According to government data, one in three Spanish households lives with at least one pet. A very high figure compared to other countries and has been growing over the years. It is also estimated that there are 13 million registered animals. But even so, it is believed that 50% of the total are not officially identified, that is, they do not appear in public records. For this reason, the Government now wants to establish “a common minimum of rights and obligations with animals” wherever they live.
Can they fine me if my dog gets pregnant? Do I have to sterilize my cat? What pets can I have and how should they live? The answers to these questions were contained in scattered regional and municipal regulations. Now, a new law wants to change all that.
The preliminary bill. It is a national standard for the protection, rights and welfare of animals, approved in early August by the Government and promoted by the Minister of United We Can Ione Belarra. It will begin its parliamentary process through the urgent route and it is expected to be approved in October. The objective is to regulate the treatment that pets should receive. This new law responds to a trend that we have dealt with at Magnet throughout several articles in which animals receive more and more rights. Or what is the same: they are no longer treated as “things”.
Can they fine the owner of a dog that gets pregnant? Yes, in fact, the fine amounts to figures between €500 and €10,000. Article 27 establishes the prohibition of raising animals by those who are not registered in the Registry of Pet Breeders, a procedure that simply consists of an “online, easy and free” registration, whose purpose is to register all animals that are born . In case of not doing so, in addition to that first fine, if the owner reoffends within three years, the amount to be paid will be between €10,000 and €50,000.
“This does not mean that someone who accidentally gets pregnant with a dog will be fined. If this happens, the owner can register as a breeder or interrupt the pregnancy,” said the Director General of Animal Rights, Sergio García Torres, who indicates that this measure only seeks to reduce the brutal abandonment of animals in our country and maintain some global “traceability” of these animals.
Do I have to sterilize my cat? In the same way, article 26 of the bill contemplates the obligation to “identify by means of a microchip and proceed to the surgical sterilization of all cats before six months of age.” Those registered in the identification register as breeders and in the name of a breeder registered in the Register of Pet Breeders will also be released.
Compulsory insurance and training course. On the other hand, the Law establishes that from now on owners will have to take out insurance for all types of dogs. Until now it was not mandatory at the national level, only in Madrid and the Basque Country, where owners must have a civil liability policy, regardless of race. If this law goes ahead, it will cost the Spanish about 245 million a year. Not only that: the Law will also oblige dog owners to take a free training course in order to have them.
The first country with a list of “legal” animals. Not only does the law of pet breeding speak, it also contemplates the creation of a “positive list of pets”, a catalog that includes the legal species of pets that can be had. If this rule is approved, those that do not appear there will be illegal, and must be seized for conservation in zoos or aquariums. Spain would thus become the first country in Europe with a list of “legal” animals for homes.
Protection, above all. As we mentioned, the ultimate goal is the welfare of the animals. That is why months ago the penalties for abuse (not only pets) were toughened, with sentences of up to two years in prison, something that was included in the draft reform of the Penal Code. In this field, the new law emphasizes the prohibition of slaughtering animals. His “assisted death” can only take place to avoid his suffering under “veterinary criteria and control”.
On the other hand, the safety of the animal must be guaranteed and that it be integrated into the family nucleus, whenever possible due to its species. In other words, the homes that they welcome must have adequate accommodation, with rooms of a suitable size and that protect them from inclement weather and are in good hygienic conditions.
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