France: Cat beaten to death in France is awarded damages

A criminal court in the French city of Lille has awarded damages to a cat following a case of animal cruelty. The one-year-old cat had been beaten to death by her owner in July 2023. The compensation of Euro 100 will be paid to the Animal Protection League (LPA) of northern France, a civil party in the case. The cat’s owner was sentenced to eight months in prison and banned from keeping a pet. The case has drawn praise for a step towards more animal rights but also skepticism about the legal grounds of the decision and the complications of treating an animal “like a person”.