UK Animal Cruelty Offenders Could Get 5 Years in Jail

Mistletoe, a two year-old Lurcher, is pictured outside the kennels at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, where it has lived for 69 days, in London on Dec. 13, 2018. Jack Taylor/Getty Images

People convicted of animal cruelty crimes in England and Wales could soon be facing sentences of up to five years in jail, following recommendations from the Sentencing Council.

Last year the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill was given Royal Assent and it raised the maximum penalty from six months up to five years for causing unnecessary suffering, tail docking, and animal fighting.