Spanish Government Will Approve New Animal Protection Law This Friday
Spain News
Published: 16 February 2022 14:20 CET
After many months of delays, the Spanish government will take the final steps on Friday and approve the country’s new animal welfare and protection law.
The pioneering law will aim to protect the rights of animals in Spain and prevent acts such as mistreatment and unnecessary slaughter.
Each year between 150,000 and 300,000 animals are abandoned and this is something the new legislation also aims to address.
Promoted by the Ministry of Social Rights the law is committed to achieving zero sacrifice and will seek to prevent any animal from being destroyed except in cases where it is absolutely necessary such as for public health reasons or euthanasia.
Another key commitment of the legislation is that it will bring an end to the commercialisation of animals in pet stores as well as their exhibition to the public for commercial purposes such as in circus shows.
The breeding of animals will also only be permitted to be carried out by those who are legally authorised to do so with official breeders being listed in a central registry.
Any practises where suffering to an animal is caused will also be outlawed under the legislation including the use of electric, choke or spiked collars often used in dog training.
How potentially dangerous dogs are and how they are categorised will also change under the new law. Each individual dog will be given an assessment to determine whether they are a danger to the public or not rather than basing the decision solely on the breed of the dog which is the method currently used.
A registry of offenders will also be created so that those found to be mistreating animals will be prohibited from owning them in the future.
Those who flout the new legislation will be hit with large fines with the maximum set at around 600,000 Euros.
Sources
https://el-lorquino.com/2022/02/16/espana/espana-aprobara-el-viernes-la-ley-de-proteccion-animal/134443/
https://www.antena3.com/noticias/espana/consejo-ministros-aprobara-este-viernes-ley-proteccion-animal_20220216620ca91cf65b1900019a7216.html
https://spanishnewstoday.com/animal_protection_law_in_spain_gets_the_green_light_after_months_of_delays_1736118-a.html
https://www.publico.es/sociedad/gobierno-aprobara-proximo-viernes-ley-proteccion-animal.html
