Jalisco farmed animal cruelty law
Law & Regulation
In Effect
April 1, 2019
Summary
In April 2019, the Congress of the State of Jalisco approved a reform of the Penal Code of Jalisco (Código Penal para el Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco) to include farmed animals within the criminal offences for cruelty and slaughter-related abuses, amending Title Vigésimo Cuarto (“De la violencia contra los animales”) — specifically Articles 305, 306, 306 Bis, 306 Ter, and 308. The reform, known as the “Jalisco Sin Crueldad” initiative, was formally presented to Congress by Deputy Salvador Caro Cabrera in February 2019 with support from Animal Equality (Igualdad Animal).
Article 306 Bis, newly added by this reform, establishes custodial sentences of one to four years and fines of 400 to 1,000 UMA (Unidad de Medida y Actualización) for persons in slaughter facilities (rastros, unidades de sacrificio, and other establishments expressly dedicated to slaughter for human consumption) who fail to use methods established in applicable Normas Oficiales Mexicanas to rapidly induce unconsciousness in animals being slaughtered, thereby prolonging the animal’s agony or death. Recidivism triggers temporary (one to three years) or definitive professional disqualification (inhabilitación) and revocation of slaughter licenses or permits. Article 306 Ter applies aggravating factors to adults when cruelty is committed in the deliberate presence of a minor, or by a minor under adult direction or consent. Article 305 defines specific acts of cruelty and mistreatment, including mutilation without justified cause or specialist care, omission of veterinary attention, inducing animals to attack, and deprivation of basic needs (air, light, food, water, shelter, adequate space). Article 308 was amended to clarify exceptions to the cruelty offences, explicitly including slaughter of animals for food (“el sacrificio de animales de abasto”) when conducted under applicable laws, regulations, and Normas Oficiales, alongside bullfighting, jaripeos, charreadas, cockfighting, hunting, fishing, scientific research, and licensed pest control.
The Penal Code’s Title Vigésimo Cuarto defines “animal” as “cualquier especie de mamíferos no humanos, aves, reptiles, anfibios o peces” (any species of non-human mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, or fish), giving the cruelty provisions broad species coverage subject to the Article 308 exceptions. Animal Equality’s campaign materials state the reform was expected to apply to more than 200 million farmed animals per year in Jalisco, based on the organisation’s production and slaughter volume estimates — an NGO projection, not an independently verified government statistic. The reform followed Animal Equality’s 2016–2017 investigations of 31 slaughterhouses across seven Mexican states, including Jalisco, documenting conscious-animal slaughter and severe mistreatment; this video evidence was presented to the Jalisco Congress as part of the campaign.
Background Context
Before the 2019 reform, animal cruelty was regulated in the Jalisco Penal Code but did not expressly include farmed animals for food within its protective scope; criminal mechanisms to prosecute cruelty inside farms and slaughterhouses were absent despite existing regulations requiring stunning and prohibiting extreme cruelty. Animal Equality (Igualdad Animal México), led by Executive Director Dulce Ramírez, conducted the 2016–2017 multi-state slaughterhouse investigation that generated the documentary evidence underlying the “Jalisco Sin Crueldad” campaign. The reform builds on the existing Ley de Protección a los Animales para el Estado de Jalisco and on federal Normas Oficiales Mexicanas governing slaughter methods, explicitly tying Penal Code criminal liability in Article 306 Bis to non-compliance with those federal technical standards. A 2024 legislative decree (29576/LXIII/24) subsequently reformed Articles 305 and 306 to increase general cruelty penalties and abrogated the final paragraph of Article 306; a 2024 initiative by Deputy Alejandra Margarita Giadans Valenzuela sought to reintroduce that paragraph as an aggravating factor for torture or extreme brutality. These subsequent reforms did not alter Article 306 Bis on slaughter methods.
System Impact
Direction
Neutral / Administrative
Type
Alters Legal Basis
Significance
Moderate
Animal Equality conducted slaughterhouse investigations across seven Mexican states (including Jalisco) in 2016–2017, documenting conscious-animal slaughter and severe mistreatment in 31 facilities. Deputy Salvador Caro Cabrera formally presented the “Jalisco Sin Crueldad” initiative to the Jalisco Congress in February 2019. The Penal Code reform was approved by the Congreso del Estado de Jalisco in April 2019; the exact day and Periódico Oficial publication date are not resolved in sources consulted. Article 306 Bis ties slaughterhouse criminal liability to compliance with federal Normas Oficiales Mexicanas on stunning methods. The Ministerio Público holds enforcement responsibility under Article 307, including seizure of instruments, effects, objects, or products of the offence. A 2024 legislative decree increased general cruelty penalties under Articles 305 and 306 without modifying Article 306 Bis. Media coverage in 2023–2024 confirms the broader Title Vigésimo Cuarto cruelty framework applies to “cualquier animal sea doméstico o silvestre” with tightened penalty ranges, but does not report changes to the slaughter-specific provisions. No sources document court decisions invalidating or suspending Article 306 Bis.
Anticipated Effects
If Article 306 Bis is consistently enforced, adherence to Normas Oficiales on pre-slaughter stunning and rapid induction to unconsciousness would become a factor in criminal liability for slaughterhouse operators and staff in Jalisco, potentially affecting equipment investment, training, and supervision practices.
If the professional disqualification and license revocation mechanisms are applied where violations are proven, individuals and facilities found in violation would face restricted employment or authorisation for specified periods, or indefinitely in cases of recidivism.
Whether the reform has produced measurable changes in stunning compliance rates, prosecution numbers, or the prevalence of clandestine or non-compliant slaughter practices in Jalisco since 2019 is not established in available sources.
Significance Rationale
Assigned Neutral / Administrative (impact direction) because the reform changes legal definitions, penalty levels, and professional/licensing consequences for cruelty and slaughter conduct, without documented evidence of contraction or expansion in the number of animals used in Jalisco’s farmed animal and slaughter systems, facility counts, or production volumes.
Assigned Alters Legal Basis (impact type) because the primary mechanism is the creation of new criminal offences — non-use of NOM-compliant stunning methods, specifically defined cruelty acts — and new custodial, financial, and professional-disqualification consequences, fundamentally changing what conduct is criminally liable rather than primarily modifying operational conditions within continuing practice. This is a more substantial legal basis change than Mexico’s comparable Hidalgo reform, which primarily specified operational standards (video surveillance, husbandry conditions) within continuing licensed operations.
Assigned Moderate significance because the reform applies statewide, covers farmed mammals, birds, and other vertebrate species across Jalisco’s animal agriculture sector, and is supported by an NGO estimate of over 200 million animals per year potentially within scope — the largest quantified population figure among SE’s Mexico Development records. Despite this scale, the reform establishes criminal liability and licensing consequences rather than eliminating a sector or documented changes in production volume, consistent with the Moderate calibration applied to Mexico’s Hidalgo reform.
The duration and persistence of any scale change in animal use or slaughter volumes arising from this reform is not established in available sources.
Within The System
Key Actors
The Congreso del Estado de Jalisco approved the reform. Deputy Salvador Caro Cabrera formally presented the “Jalisco Sin Crueldad” initiative. Animal Equality (Igualdad Animal México), led by Executive Director Dulce Ramírez, conducted the underlying investigations and campaigned for the reform. The Ministerio Público holds primary enforcement responsibility under Article 307. Administrative authorities issue and revoke slaughter facility licenses and permits under Article 306 Bis. Rastros, unidades de sacrificio, and other slaughter establishments in Jalisco are the directly regulated industry actors.
Notice an inaccuracy or omission?
If you believe information on this page is incorrect, incomplete, or missing important context, you may submit a suggested correction for review.