MOSCOW, December 8 (RAPSI) – The State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, adopted in the second reading on Friday a bill toughening punishment for cruelty to animals up to 5 years in prison.

The draft law fixes penalty of up to 3 years in prison for animal abuse. If the crime is committed in presence of a child, by a group of people in collusion, or with display in media including the Internet, it would be punishable by up to 5 years in prison.

The bill also stipulates alternative penalty such as fines, community service and supervised release, which would provide individualization of punishment depending on crimes’ nature and level of public danger, identity of a criminal, mitigating or aggravating circumstances.

The initiative was triggered by numerous petitions lodged by citizens, social and animal rights organizations, and repeated violent incidents with regard to animals, one of the bill’s authors, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Ecology and Environment Protection Vladimir Burmatov said.

Burmatov considers toughened punishment for cruelty to animals as a preventive measure.

Amendments are proposed to the Criminal Code of Russia.