Towards a coherent sentencing jurisprudence for animal cruelty offences

In recent years, there has been growing community concern regarding the high incidence of animal cruelty offences. A large number of offenders are sentenced each year for these crimes. Despite this, there is no established, or even emerging, jurisprudence regarding the proper approach to sentencing animal cruelty offenders. Consequently, sanctions imposed for animal cruelty offences are often perceived to be inappropriate and inconsistent. This is unsurprising, given that some of the main sentencing objectives, such as protection of the community, are ostensibly irrelevant to animal cruelty offences. This article proposes a framework for sentencing animal cruelty offenders. We argue that the principle of proportionality should be the main consideration that informs the sentences imposed for animal cruelty offences. An examination of scientific evidence about animals' capacity to feel pain and philosophical theories about their moral status suggests that animal cruelty offences can be extremely serious and hence often warrant the imposition of harsher penalties than are often currently imposed. The recommendations in this article will enhance the integrity of this area of law and provide principled guidance to judicial officers in sentencing animal cruelty offenders.