The holidays are a time for travel and relaxation. Sometimes, when people want to go away, animals become an obstacle. It is precisely during the summer that they are most often abandoned or harmed.

Every year during the holiday season, police officers encounter cases of animals being abandoned, most often dogs and cats.

Bolesławiec police officers remind us:

Abandoning an animal by its owner or by another person entrusted with its care is legally considered animal abuse. Abuse should be understood as inflicting pain or suffering, or knowingly allowing pain or suffering to be inflicted, including in particular: injuring or maiming an animal; beating animals; overburdening animals; transporting animals in a way that causes unnecessary suffering and stress; maliciously frightening or teasing animals; keeping animals in unsuitable living conditions, including in a state of gross neglect or squalor, or in rooms or cages that prevent them from maintaining a natural position; and abandonment.

It is the owner's duty to provide suitable conditions, as well as food and water.

As we read on the psy.pl website:

From a legal perspective, abandoning an animal is treated as a prohibited act. The reason why someone abandons a dog is irrelevant—it is always a crime. However, tying a dog to a tree or throwing puppies away in a bag is considered an act of particular cruelty. Under the law, a person who abandons a dog is a criminal. This act carries a penalty of up to 3 years' imprisonment or a substantial fine, as well as an obligation to pay a specified amount into the account of an organization dealing with homeless dogs.

In cases of exceptional cruelty, this penalty may be increased to as much as 5 years and will be accompanied by a ban on owning animals. The judgment will also include a fine of between PLN 1,000 and PLN 100,000.

The uniformed officers from Bolesławiec add:

If we see that someone has abandoned an animal—has left it without care and no one checks on it; the animal has been tied to a tree; is wandering around; appears to be lost; or in any other situation in which the animal is being harmed, we should notify the police, municipal guard or other appropriate services.