Enforcement-Oriented Animal Welfare Reform in Slovakia: Comparative Lessons from Poland, Hungary, and Czechia

This article offers a systematic analysis of the legal protection of animals in Slovakia with targeted comparative reference points from Poland, Hungary, and Czechia. It firsts situates Slovak law within the international and EU framework, highlighting how animal welfare standards have progressively shaped national legislation. We then examine the main public and private law instruments governing animals, including the Veterinary Act and the dereification of animals in civil law. The core of the article analyzes two groups of animals: companion animals and farm animals. For each group, we outline the applicable welfare standards and illustrate typical problem areas, such as online trade in companion animals and intensive livestock production. A further section assesses the institutional and sanctioning framework, focusing on the interaction between administrative and criminal liability and the growing, but still uneven, role of civil society. The article concludes by identifying key enforcement deficits and proposing targeted reforms to strengthen outcome-oriented welfare enforcement and improve the regulation of breeding and online trade.