Spain improves protection of pets as “sentient beings”

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Madrid’s lower house on Thursday finally approved the “law for the rights and welfare of animals” and amendments to the penal code with higher penalties for animal cruelty. The improvements are intended to benefit Spain’s estimated 26 million pets, mainly dogs and cats.

In the future, dogs should not be left alone for more than one day and cats should not be left alone for more than three days. In addition, they should be housed in a species-specific manner and protected from cold and heat and, if necessary, undergo veterinary treatment. All masters and mistresses are required to take out liability insurance for their darlings. Abuse and other animal welfare violations can be punished with fines of up to 200,000 euros or even imprisonment. Anyone who has mistreated their animal will have it irrevocably confiscated and handed over to an animal shelter.

Pets may only be killed if they endanger public health or in the context of euthanasia, and then only by a veterinarian. Hunting dogs, which are sometimes treated particularly cruelly and were originally intended to enjoy the same protection, were exempted after protests from hunting associations.

Exceptions also apply to police and guide dogs and sheep and herding dogs. The ban on the use of animals in combat events such as cockfights also has an exception: it does not apply to bullfights. Different rules apply to farm animals.

The legislative initiative of the left-wing coalition government had sparked heated debate. In last week’s vote, the House of Lords canceled the planned requirement for dog owners to take a course on how to handle their pet in a species-specific way. The House of Representatives also agreed. However, the dogs themselves are put through a test to determine if they can pose a danger to their environment and the public. The ban on homeless people not being allowed to keep dogs has also been lifted. Although they are sometimes misused to beg for alms, they are too important a companion for the particularly vulnerable homeless.

(SDA)

Source: Blick