The Animal Welfare Law has been generating a strong controversy for months with political parties, animal groups and jurists involved. The norm, which includes measures such as the compulsory sterilization of cats, the imposition of courses for dog owners or the punishment for those who leave the pet animal unsupervised, has brought socialists upside down for months, who have fought until the last minute to pass Congress in the fine print: exclude hunting dogs.
The PSOE presented an amendment to exclude these animals (a way to also count on the rural vote), something that Podemos and the investiture partners considered a red line until now.
Approved the Animal Welfare Law. After months of struggle, Congress has given the green light to the Animal Welfare Law with the support of the two government parties (PSOE and Unidas Podemos), as well as their usual partners. The result of the vote was 174 in favour, 167 against and 5 abstentions. This rule, which from now on will go to the Senate for processing, sets new conditions for caring for and maintaining animals. On the other hand, the reform of the Penal Code that modifies the penalties for animal abuse has also been approved.
The hunting dogs: the eternal dispute. The underlying problem and the source of the controversy was that the socialists relied on the PP and Vox, among other formations, to introduce an amendment that changed the text: remove hunting dogs from rehalas, shepherds and Security Forces and Corps, as well as those used in sports activities. Other parties such as Unidas Podemos, EH Bildu and ERC opposed this new condition.
However, the dispute has concluded today. Finally, the party led by Ione Belarra has yielded to the PSOE despite the fact that the exclusion of this type of dog is maintained and has voted in favor of the law. Mainly this change of maneuver is due to the fact that voting against it would imply knocking down a law that they themselves promoted and that they consider necessary. Come on, what better without the hunting dogs, than without the law.
Why the controversy? As the Royal Spanish Hunting Federation (RFEC) commented, both the PP and Vox as well as the PSOE (which on the other hand wants to win the rural vote) believe that hunting and rehauling dogs “should be treated differently from of a Chihuahua who lives in an apartment in Madrid”. “These animals are not pets, they have to have a specific regulation,” explained Manuel Gallardo, president of the association in this EL PAÍS report.
On the other side are the protectionist organizations, which demand to include these dogs. In fact, 52 of them have asked to withdraw the rule if this exclusion is approved. “The PSOE amendment that proposes the segregation of dogs based on professional and leisure activities is a regressive movement in Spain,” criticized the Franz Weber Foundation. Also the Royal Canine Society of Spain he sees some holes in the amendment: “It is very difficult to know which dogs would be affected by this amendment, because 80% of the breeds can be used for hunting.”
What is the law? Although the debate and controversy have fallen especially on hunting dogs due to all the political mess, the norm approved in Congress marks a before and after in terms of animal protection. Among other measures, it includes the mandatory sterilization of cats, the preservation of feline colonies or the imposition of courses for dog owners who, in addition, must have civil liability insurance for damages to third parties. In addition, it prohibits euthanasia except in cases of incurable diseases or extreme suffering and the list of species that can be kept as a pet is restricted.
On the other hand, punishments are included for owners who leave pets unsupervised for more than three days in a row. In the case of dogs, the maximum time is 24 hours. And the law also eliminates the label of “potentially dangerous breeds” by replacing them with a sociability test that violent animals must undergo to find out if they need a short leash and muzzle.
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