Protection and welfare of animals
ON March 28, 2023, a law on the protection and welfare of animals was issued.
As usual, we will only address some aspects of the law that we consider most relevant, without prejudice to the fact that the entire law is of paramount importance.
Among other issues, this law addresses responsible ownership and co-existence, establishing a common set of obligations and prohibitions, without prejudice to those that the Spanish autonomous communities may establish within the framework of their competences, for owners or caretakers of pets and wild animals in captivity.
Chapter I of this law deals with general obligations and prohibitions.
Among these obligations are education, surveillance, veterinary care, providing cages with sufficient space, identification, and location (Paragraph 24).
The long list of prohibitions in Paragraph 25, for instance, includes animal abuse, abandonment, letting animals roam freely in public places, use of animals as a mobile advertising prop, being used for excessive work, inadequate feeding, being subject to raffles or prizes, being used in fights, or technical restrictions on mobility without veterinary authorization.
Chapter II establishes the conditions for keeping pets, in concrete in private homes and in open spaces.
Among the specific obligations established in Paragraph
26 are the following: keeping them integrated in the family and, where applicable, providing adequate living space, preventing uncontrolled reproduction, managing waste and urine, mandatory veterinary controls and treatments, completing training in responsible ownership for that species of animal, identifying them with a microchip, surgical sterilization of cats except those registered as breeders, and reporting their death accompanied by a document indicating the location of the body.
The prohibitions set in Paragraph 27 include:
■ Their sacrifice, except for reasons of people or animals´ safety or the existence of a duly justified, by the competent authority, risk to public health. The slaughter of animals in animal protection centres, whether public or private, veterinary clinics, and zoos in general is expressly prohibited for economic reasons, overcrowding, lack of space, inability to find an adopter within a certain period of time, abandonment by the legal owner, old age, illness, or injury with the possibility of treatment, whether palliative or curative, behavioural problems that can be corrected, as well as any other cause assimilable to the aforementioned. Euthanasia will only be justified under veterinary criteria and control for the sole purpose of avoiding suffering from non-recoverable causes that seriously compromise the animal's quality of life.
■ Permanent bodily mutilation or modifications.
■ Keeping animals tied up or wandering in public spaces without the supervision of the responsible caretaker.
■ Continuously keeping dogs and cats on terraces, balconies, roofs, storage rooms, basements, patios, or similar places, as well as inside vehicles.
■ Releasing or introducing animals into their natural medium.
■ Leaving animals unsupervised for more than three consecutive days (24 hours for dogs).
■ Commercial breeding by breeders not registered in the Registry. The commercialization of dogs, cats, and ferrets in pet stores, as well as their exhibition and display to the public for commercial purposes. Registered breeders can only sell dogs, cats, and ferrets.
■ Use of electric, shock, punishment, or choke collars.
Paragraph 28 deals with pets in open spaces, particularly regulating their accommodations.
Pet access to means of transportation is regulated in Paragraph 29, which also addresses their access to public establishments and spaces.
Individuals who wish to own dogs must provide proof of completion of a dog ownership training course, which will have an indefinite validity. The content of this course will be determined by the corresponding regulations and will be free of charge.
For the ownership of dogs, the person in charge must contract and maintain liability insurance covering damages to third parties, including the responsible people of the animal, for an amount sufficient to cover expenses, which will be regulated.
Owners of circuses, carousels, fair attractions, and any public show or activity that uses captive wild animals have a period of six months from the entry into force of this law to modify their activity and, if applicable, inform the competent authority about the species and the number of captive wild animals in their possession.
This law will come into effect six months after its publication in Boletin Oficial del Estado, namely in September 2023.