Federica Faiella is a lawyer specializing in criminal law and animal law, and the founder and president of Fondazione Cave Canem (Italy), dedicated to the protection of animals who are victims of crime and severe abuse. In July 2026, she will obtain the qualification of specialized lawyer in Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, reflecting her professional focus on the shared dynamics of coercion, abuse, and violence affecting both people and animals.
She is a signatory to a memorandum of understanding with the Carabinieri Forestali (CUFA), including cooperation frameworks connected to SOARDA, with significant international implications for enforcement and cross-border collaboration. She is also a signatory to a protocol with the Italian Ministry of Justice, Department for Juvenile and Community Justice (DGMC).
Federica teaches and delivers professional training on nonprofit management, legal protection of animals, and participatory project design, collaborating with Bocconi University (Milan), LUISS University (Rome), the University of Naples Federico II, and the Italian State Police.
Together with her foundation team and partner organizations, she has contributed to the approval of multiple legislative measures, including the so-called “Decreto Caivano” (Decree-Law No. 123 of 15 September 2023 on youth distress, educational poverty, juvenile crime, and minors’ online safety), later converted into law by Law No. 159 of 13 November 2023; Law No. 70/2024 recognizing animals as potential victims in bullying and cyberbullying contexts; the enactment of Law No. 82/2025, strengthening criminal provisions on crimes against animals and increasing penalties, with particular relevance to animal fighting circuits; and the inclusion in the 2026 and 2027 Budget Laws of €1 million per year dedicated to prevention and prosecution of animal fighting, as well as to judicial custody and behavioral rehabilitation of rescued animals.
She approaches animal fighting as an organized crime phenomenon closely linked to juvenile deviance and group violence, advocating integrated legal and policy responses to disrupt these criminal ecosystems.