The Council of Ministers has approved and submitted to Parliament for debate amendments to the Criminal Code that increase the penalties for torturing animals and add new, more severe punishments if what is done is filmed for distribution. 

If the offence is committed for personal gain, it is proposed that the penalty will be between 3 and 10 years' imprisonment and a fine of between 2,500 and 10,000 euros. In particularly severe cases, the punishment would be imprisonment from 3 to 12 years and a fine from 5,000 to 15,000 euros.

• Civil society calls for effective policing and an end to animal cruelty

The amendments are proposed in the wake of the infamous Pernik case, in which a young woman, with the help of a male accomplice, filmed herself torturing and killing hundreds of small animals for fetishist clients outside Bulgaria. This case of monstrous violence sparked widespread protests in many cities across Bulgaria.