Animal cruelty: how to report it in Peru

The underlying mistake: thinking animal cruelty is “just a fine,” not a crime

Many people assume that hurting an animal, or simply abandoning it, is at worst a municipal infraction — something like not picking up after your pet on the street. It isn’t. Since 2016, the Criminal Code has had a specific article for this, added by Ley N.° 30407:

“Artículo 206-A. Abandono y actos de crueldad contra animales domésticos y silvestres. El que comete actos de crueldad contra un animal doméstico o un animal silvestre, o los abandona, es reprimido con pena privativa de libertad no mayor de tres años, con cien a ciento ochenta días-multa y con inhabilitación de conformidad con el numeral 13 del artículo 36.”

In other words: it’s a crime, punishable by prison, a fine measured in días-multa (fine-days, not a fixed sol amount), and disqualification. The animal doesn’t need to die for the crime to exist — the act of cruelty or the abandonment alone is enough.

If the animal dies from the cruelty or the abandonment

The same article increases the penalty when the result is the animal’s death:

“Si como consecuencia de estos actos de crueldad o del abandono el animal doméstico o silvestre muere, la pena es privativa de libertad no menor de tres ni mayor de cinco años, con ciento cincuenta a trescientos sesenta días-multa y con inhabilitación de conformidad con el numeral 13 del artículo 36.”

The penalty goes from a maximum of 3 years to a range of 3 to 5 years, and the días-multa range nearly doubles at its upper end (150 to 360, versus 100 to 180).

In both scenarios, the sentence can also include disqualification under article 36 of the Criminal Code, which — since the same 2016 reform — expressly includes this ground:

“Artículo 36. Inhabilitación. La inhabilitación produce, según disponga la sentencia: (…) 13. Incapacidad definitiva o temporal para la tenencia de animales.”

That means a judge can prohibit the convicted person from owning animals, either temporarily or permanently.

Abandonment already is cruelty, whether or not it feels that way

One of the most common misunderstandings is thinking “abandoning” and “harming” are different things — that leaving an animal on the street is, at worst, negligence, not cruelty. Article 22, paragraph a), closes that door:

“Se prohíbe toda práctica que pueda atentar contra la protección y el bienestar animal, tales como: a. El abandono de animales en la vía pública, por constituir un acto de maltrato y una condición de riesgo para la salud pública. Los gobiernos regionales y gobiernos locales quedan facultados para disponer los mecanismos necesarios a fin de controlar el abandono de animales e imponer las sanciones correspondientes.”

The law classifies it directly as an act of cruelty, not as a separate, lesser category. That’s what makes article 206-A of the Criminal Code punish abandonment with the same penalty as active acts of cruelty.

Who can report it, and who’s obligated to act on the report

Another common misunderstanding: thinking only the animal’s owner, or someone who personally witnessed the cruelty, has standing to report it. Article 6 rules that out:

“Toda persona, natural o jurídica, está facultada para denunciar las infracciones a la presente Ley. Los gobiernos locales, el Ministerio Público y la Policía Nacional del Perú tienen el deber de atenderlas e intervenir para garantizar la aplicación de la presente Ley.”

Anyone can report it — a neighbor, a passerby, an organization — and the municipality, the prosecutor’s office and the police have a legal duty to receive and act on that report, not just the discretionary option to do so.

Two independent tracks: the administrative fine and the criminal case

Animal cruelty can be pursued through two different tracks at the same time. On one side, the administrative track:

“30.1 Constituyen infracciones administrativas el incumplimiento de los deberes y prohibiciones establecidos en el artículo 5 y en el Capítulo VI, Prohibiciones, de la presente Ley… 30.3 Las sanciones administrativas a aplicar son: a. Multa no menor de una ni mayor de cincuenta unidades impositivas tributarias. b. Suspensión de la realización de experimentos e investigaciones que no observen lo dispuesto en la presente Ley. c. Clausura parcial o total, temporal o definitiva, del centro o institución donde se lleva a cabo la actividad generadora de la infracción. d. Decomiso de los objetos, instrumentos o artefactos utilizados en la comisión de la infracción. e. Suspensión o cancelación del permiso, licencia de funcionamiento, concesión o cualquier otra autorización, según el caso.”

On the other, the criminal track under article 206-A explained above. Do they exclude each other? No — article 33 makes that clear directly:

“La responsabilidad administrativa es independiente de la responsabilidad civil o penal que pueda derivarse de los hechos materia de la infracción.”

A municipal fine doesn’t close the door to a criminal complaint over the same act, or the other way around.

The 2026 reform is not law

Be careful with what circulates on social media and in the news. In May 2026 Congress’s plenary approved a reform of article 206-A, but the President vetoed it with observations in June 2026, so it was not published as law. It is now a bill again in the Chamber of Deputies; we explain it below under «Possible changes ahead».

The penalty in force is still the one article 206-A carries as left by Ley 30407 in 2016: up to 3 years in prison, or 3 to 5 years if the animal dies.

Foreigners

These rules apply to acts that happen in Peru. If you witnessed animal cruelty here, it doesn’t matter your nationality or the animal owner’s: Ley 30407 and article 206-A of the Criminal Code apply the same way to anyone present in the country, and article 6 lets you report it without needing to be Peruvian or the animal’s owner.