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The author deals with a sentence of the Corte di Cassazione, which confirms the conviction of three poachers for the crime of mistreatment of animals, aggravated by the death. In particular, hunters are reproached for having let a roe deer agonize, after having wounded it, without giving it the final blow, thus subjecting it to unnecessary torture and suffering. The Author takes a cue from the sentence to criticize the thesis, incidentally referred to by the ruling, according to which the crime of mistreatment of animals would protect the (human) feeling for animals

The work deals with environmental pollution crime provided by Directive 2008/99EC and with his implementation in some European criminal systems (Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal, France and United Kingdom), looking for analogies and differences in respect to Italian criminal provision. The comparison is helpful for best comprehension of some aspects of Italian environmental pollution crime