you really DO have to admire italy for it's animal protection laws

no goldfish bowls, you MUST walk your dogs daily..... i like i like

ROME (Reuters) - An Italian restaurant was fined 688 euros ($855) for displaying live lobsters on ice to attract patrons, in an innovative application of an anti-cruelty law usually affecting to household pets.
A court in the northeastern city of Vicenza ruled the display was a form of abuse dooming the crustaceans to a slow death by suffocation.
"We're appealing," said Giuseppe Scalesia, who runs La Conchiglia D'Oro, or "Golden Shell," restaurant along with his brother Camillo.
"They said that the lobsters, laying on the ice, suffer... They compared them in court to other animals, like cats and dogs."
The case was brought by Gianpaolo Cecchetto, a former environmental activist, who took his two young children to the Vicenza restaurant in May 2002..........

some more italian animal protection laws Italian animal rights law puts lobster off the menu

By Bruce Johnston in Rome
Residents in the prosperous Italian town of Reggio Emilia were outraged yesterday after its council adopted an animal rights bylaw that bans boiling live lobster as "useless torture".
Supporters of the move said that it gave animals - both pets and those in the wild - equal rights to man, but local pet-owners criticised it as terrifying political correctness.
Under the bylaw, "sociable" birds such as budgerigars and parrots must be kept in pairs. Birdcages must be at least five times the bird's wingspan in width, and three times in height. It also makes it illegal to keep a goldfish in a round glass bowl. Anyone who breaks the law faces a fine of up to €495 (£325). .....

and this

Law August 14th,1991, # 281 Translated by Piera Bignetti
Law "quadro" on the matter of pets and the prevention of straying
The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic approved. The President of the Republic approved the following law:

1) General Principles The State enforces and regulates the treatment of domestic animals, condemns any violence against them, condemns the bad treatment or the abandoning of them, with the aim to promote the cohabitation of humans and animals, and to promote public health and the environment.
2) Treatment of dogs and other pets 1. The control of the population of dogs and cats through the limitations of births is done ? keeping into account the scientific progress ? at the local public health facilities. Pet owners or guardians can use veterinarian offices approved by recognized dog associations or animal-protective corporations, at their own expense. 2. Stray dogs found or captured or hospitalized at the above institutions (comma 1 article 4) cannot be put to sleep. 3. Dogs captured or coming from the above institutions (comma 1 article 4) cannot be used for clinical trials. 4. Stray dogs found or captured with a tattoo must be handed back to the owner or guardian. 5. Stray dogs found without a tattoo, as well as the dogs hospitalized at the above institutions (comma 1 article 4), must be tattooed; if no one searches for them within 60 days, these dogs can be given in adoption to private individuals who can guarantee them a good treatment or to animal-protective corporations, after receiving a treatment against rabies, "echinococcosi", and other transmissible diseases.6. Dogs hospitalized at the above institutions (comma 1 article 4)- with the exception of what defined by the articles 86, 87, 91 of the veterinarian police corps approved by the President of the Republic on February 8th 1954, number 20 and following modifications ? can be put asleep, only in a euthanasia way, by veterinarians, only if severely ill, incurable, or of proven danger. 7. It is forbidden for anyone to mistreat stray cats. 8. Stray cats are neutered by the health authority responsible for the territory and eventually reinserted in their group. 9. Stray cats can be put asleep only if severely ill or incurable. 10. The protective associations can ? in agreement with the local authorities ? manage the colonies of local stray cats, guaranteeing the good health and the surviving conditions. 11. The protective associations can manage the associations in comma 1 article 4, under the authority of a veterinarian office for that territory. 12. The associations in comma 1 article 4 can keep dogs in custody against a payment and offer an emergency service
3) Regional Responsibilities
1) The regions rule with their own laws, within 6 months the approval of this law, the institution of a canine register at the city hall or the local public health offices, as well as the modalities dog owners should follow to register their dogs and how to release the dog identification, which should be given using a painless tattoo. 2) The regions should determine, with their own law, within 6 months of the approval of this law, the criteria to rehabilitate dog pounds and housing for dogs. These structures should guarantee healthy living conditions for the dogs, follow sanitary rules, and are subject to the health and sanitary control from the local public health authorities. The regional law also determines the criteria and the division between the counties for the implementations of the project under their responsibilities. 3) The regions should adopt, with their own law, within 6 months of the approval of this law, and after a hearing of the associations for animals, protective, and hunting (?) ? which operate in that regional territory ? a program to prevent straying. 4) The program at comma 3 includes intervention for the following: a) Initiatives to create awareness ? including schools ? on a correct relationship between the respect for animal life and the defense of their habitat. b) Courses to instruct the personnel of the regions and the regional health units working on the services this law provides, as well as courses for the "guardie zoofile" who collaborate with the above authorities. ........

and of course THIS:

Rome bans goldfish bowls, orders dog walking
Italian capital also backs feeding of the city's stray cats

ROME - The city of Rome has banned goldfish bowls, which animal rights activists say are cruel, and has made regular dog-walks mandatory in the Italian capital, the town’s council said on Tuesday.
The classic spherical fish bowls are banned under a new by-law which also stops fish or other animals being given away as fairground prizes. It comes after a national law was passed to allow jail sentences for people who abandon cats or dogs.
“It’s good to do whatever we can for our animals who in exchange for a little love fill our existence with their attention,” said Monica Cirinna, the councilor behind the by-law.ROME - The city of Rome has banned goldfish bowls, which animal rights activists say are cruel, and has made regular dog-walks mandatory in the Italian capital, the town’s council said on Tuesday.
The classic spherical fish bowls are banned under a new by-law which also stops fish or other animals being given away as fairground prizes. It comes after a national law was passed to allow jail sentences for people who abandon cats or dogs.
“It’s good to do whatever we can for our animals who in exchange for a little love fill our existence with their attention,” said Monica Cirinna, the councilor behind the by-law........