Section 382: Overworking a sick, aged or young animal
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดใช้ให้สัตว์ทำงานจนเกินสมควรหรือใช้ให้ทำงานอันไม่สมควร เพราะเหตุที่สัตว์นั้นป่วยเจ็บ ชราหรืออ่อนอายุ ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินหนึ่งเดือน หรือปรับไม่เกินหนึ่งหมื่นบาท หรือทั้งจำทั้งปรับ หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๖ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๒) พ.ศ. ๒๕๕๘]
English translation
Whoever causes an animal to work beyond what is reasonable, or causes it to do work that is unsuitable because the animal is sick, aged, or young, shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding one month, or a fine not exceeding ten thousand baht, or both.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
This is one of the animal provisions in the Title on Petty Offences. There are two limbs: causing an animal to work beyond what is reasonable, and causing it to do work that is unsuitable, where the unsuitability arises from the animal being sick, aged or young. Neither limb requires proof that the animal was injured; the section is directed at the demand made of the animal rather than at the result. The penalty is up to one month's imprisonment, or a fine of up to 10,000 baht, or both, the rate having been set by Section 6 of the Penal Code Amendment Act (No. 22) B.E. 2558. Conduct of this kind will often also fall under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Provision of Animal Welfare Act B.E. 2557, which is a separate statute and carries considerably heavier penalties.
Why this matters in practice
Exposure under this section is small, up to one month or a fine of up to 10,000 baht, and in practice the significance of a complaint is usually that the same facts are also reported under the animal welfare legislation, which carries much heavier penalties. The elements to test are whether the work demanded was beyond what is reasonable and, for the second limb, whether the animal was in fact sick, aged or young at the time. Do not confuse this section with Section 376, which is the offence of firing a gun without reasonable cause in a town, a village or a place where people are gathered; see criminal law in Thailand.
Cited in 1 Supreme Court decisions (1998 to 1998)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 4870/2541 (1998)
This list is selected automatically, weighted towards judgments that turn on this section rather than ones that merely recite it when passing sentence. It has not yet been reviewed by the firm.
Counted across the firm's corpus of 83,652 Supreme Court decisions, 1921 to 2026. The count is complete; the stated year range trims rare outliers so it describes where the citations actually sit. These figures are computed by us and are not official court statistics. How we count these, and what we measured
Frequently asked questions
What does Section 382 punish?
Causing an animal to work beyond what is reasonable, or causing it to do work that is unsuitable because the animal is sick, aged or young.
What is the penalty under Section 382?
Imprisonment not exceeding one month, or a fine not exceeding 10,000 baht, or both. The same conduct may also be an offence under the animal welfare legislation, which is heavier.
Does the animal have to be injured?
No. The section is directed at the work demanded of the animal, not at any resulting injury.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
-
Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 382 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 382. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-382/ (accessed 17 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 382 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-382/ -
Embed on your site
<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-382/"><p>Whoever causes an animal to work beyond what is reasonable, or causes it to do work that is unsuitable because the animal is sick, aged, or young, shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding one month, or a fine not exceeding ten thousand baht, or…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 382 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-382/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.