Riflessioni sulla competenza regionale in materia di tutela degli animali

Starting from the recent ruling of the Constitutional Court of 15 June 2023, n. 121, this contribution offers some reflections on the division of legislative competences between the State and the Regions with regard to the protection of animals and in particular with regard to the phenomenon relating to the overlap of administrative sanctions regional to criminal discipline. The Court’s decision also provides further and useful ideas for reasoning about the new constitutional structure with regard to the environmental issue and, in particular, about the implications for the protection of animals following the introduction of the new last paragraph of the Article 9 Const. Article 9 Const., last paragraph, in fact, introduces a state law reservation regarding the methods and forms of animal protection