2024 was not just a disastrous year, made up of catastrophic natural events and wars. Fortunately we have witnessed great positive developments for animals, in Italy and in the rest of the world, which have made us rejoice and hope for a future without cruelty.
Let’s relive together the most important battles won by dogs, bulls, cetaceans and many other creatures that have breathed a sigh of relief in various countries.
Stop cruel greyhound racing in New Zealand
There New Zealand officially said goodbye to bloody greyhound races. This measure, which will come into force by 2026, is motivated by the high number of injuries and deaths among dogs. For the New Zealand government, the injury rate remains unacceptably high, making this decision necessary to protect animals.
Greyhound racing has long been a controversial part of sporting and betting culture in New Zealand. In 2021, 232 deaths and around 900 injuries were recorded among dogs, which has fueled growing public disgust towards the practice. Now the time has come to put an end to this carnage.
Belgium says goodbye to dolphinariums
No more exploitation disguised as entertainment! At the end of 2024 Belgium has decided to ban dolphinariums: After the bans imposed in the Brussels and Wallonia regions, Flanders also followed this direction.
The last active water park in Bruges will close its doors forever in a few years and it will no longer be allowed to keep dolphins in captivity. In addition to the ban on new openings, restrictions have been introduced to improve the conditions of animals currently in captivity, such as the ban on reproduction and import and the obligation to build an outdoor swimming pool by 2027.
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More severe penalties for those who abandon animals in Italy
The highly contested new Highway Code, in force since last December in Italy, it has a positive note, namely the tightening of penalties for those who abandon animals. In addition to the sanctions already provided for by the Criminal Code, the driving license will be withdrawn from six months to one year. From now on you risk up to 7 years in prison if the animal is left on the street.
But not only that: if the abandonment causes an accident with victims or serious injuries, those responsible will have to answer for vehicular homicide and serious or very serious personal injury.
The end of bullfights in Colombia
The era of bloody and anachronistic bullfights is coming to an end in Colombia. After a long battle carried out by animal rights associations and citizens, bull shows will be banned starting from 2027. Colombia has become the sixth Latin American country to say a stop to the bloody tradition, which endangers bulls and people.
While waiting for the ban to come into force, the Government will have to guarantee alternative jobs to workers who work directly or indirectly in the sector and adapt the country’s arenas into places for sporting and cultural activities.
No to intensive farming: the city of Berkeley is the first to ban them in the USA
In 2024 Berkeley made history: it became, in fact, the first city in the USA to ban intensive farming. The city referendum proved the activists right, giving an enormous gift to animals but also to the environment. The approval of the measure, supported by over 60% of voters, marks a decisive step of inspiration for the rest of the world.
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All zoos in Costa Rica closed
No more animals imprisoned in cages: eleven years after the approval of the historic law banning the detention of wild animals, the last two state zoos in Costa Rica – in which hundreds of animals including jaguars, crocodiles, spider monkeys and sloths – they closed their doors. But it doesn’t end here. The area where the Simón Bolívar zoo once stood will be transformed into a green lung in the heart of the capital, in a botanical garden style.
