Left on a terrace in Sciacca without water or shade as temperatures hit 43°C, the deaths of the puppies have reignited calls for tougher penalties for animal cruelty in Italy.
The death of four puppies left on a terrace in the Sicilian town of Sciacca, with no water or protection from the sun during the current heatwave, has caused widespread outrage across Italy.
The puppies were part of a litter of six left on the terrace alongside three other dogs — their mother and two adult males. A video circulating online, filmed by rescuers, shows the puppies crying in distress while their mother moves helplessly back and forth, unable to reach them.
“The cries of puppies that were literally baking”
Adriana Montalbano, an official at Sciacca’s Stray Animal Control office and a volunteer with the Balzoo non-profit association, filmed the footage and described the scene as one of the worst she had witnessed.
“It was one of the most hellish days of my life and not just because of the 43-degree heat, but because of the cries of puppies that were literally baking under the scorching sun,” she said.
Montalbano said the mother, a Maremma Sheepdog, and the surviving puppies have since been treated and are now out of danger. The two adult male dogs — a Pinscher and a Belgian Shepherd — were found to be in good enough health to be placed in a kennel.
Charges filed but activists warn punishment won’t fit the crime
The dogs’ owners now face criminal charges over the incident. But animal rights activist Enrico Rizzi warned that even a conviction is unlikely to result in any meaningful consequence under current Italian law.
“Even if they are found guilty, they will not spend even one day in jail under the current law, because the punishment in such cases remains under the threshold [for prison],” he said.
The case has added fresh momentum to long-standing criticism from animal welfare groups that Italy’s penalties for cruelty and neglect remain too weak to act as a genuine deterrent.
