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If you've ever felt frustrated when you've read that an animal abuser was slapped with a puny penalty or that an authority pooh-poohed a plea for compassion, you're sure to exclaim "Bravo, Bulgaria!" by the end of this post.

A week ago, Bulgarian agriculture minister Miroslav Naydenov was asked by animal defenders to strengthen penalties that animal abusers must face after an unidentified person tortured a dog named Mima by hacking off her legs—yes, all of them—and leaving her for dead. Lawmakers, lawyers, and others got right down to business, and one week later, Naydenov is ready to present an amendment in the National Assembly, and it is expected to pass easily.

Under the amended law, anyone found guilty of causing permanent injury or death to an animal will face one to three years in jail and fines that may exceed US$10,000 (thanks, currency converter). Repeat offenders or those who torture and/or kill animals in front of children will face up to five years imprisonment and doubled fines.

While the law did not come in time to make Mima's torturer pause and consider the consequences of his or her stomach-turning cruelty, it does send a message to would-be animal abusers that they'll face more than a slap on the wrist if they are caught and convicted.

The moral of this story is always to ask decisionmakers to take action on behalf of animals. Who knows? Their response just might surprise you.

Written by Karin Bennett

Deflocked, baby. Deflocked.

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Some great news this weekend for Mima, Misho, and Svetla, the last of Bulgaria's "dancing bears," who were released to a mountain sanctuary on Friday after a lifetime of torture in the service of a horrific tradition. The process of forcing these animals to perform—a practice which sadly still continues in India and Pakistan—involves attaching a metal ring through their noses, which is pulled by a chain to create enough pain to induce them to walk on burning embers. According to the AP, the release of Mima, Misho, and Svetla to a sanctuary, thanks to the efforts of an activist group called the Four Paws Foundation, marks the end of a centuries-old tradition. Not only is this amazing news for the rescued animals, it’s also a great sign that people are finally starting to see just how cruel and barbaric it is to force animals to perform for our entertainment. Someone should probably tell Ringling Bros.

Of course, they could have just asked us. But this recent finding by the US National Research Council is very good news for animals suffering in laboratories. According to the study,

I guess research councils take longer than the rest of us to figure out that animals just don't work the same way as humans, but it's great to see that they've finally figured it out. You can read The Daily Telegraph's take on the study here, and for those of you with a more academic disposition—or just a whole lot of time on your hands—the full study is available here.

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