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Date Published: 02/08/2022

ARCHIVED - 5 key changes to the Animal Protection Law in Spain

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The August 1 legislation aims to reduce the abuse, abandonment and sacrifice of animals in Spain

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - 5 key changes to the Animal Protection Law in Spain

The Council of Ministers, along with many other official offices in Spain, traditionally take their summer break in August and there was a mad scramble on the first of the month to pass some urgent legal bills.

Hogging the headlines is, of course, the Spanish government’s plan for cutting down energy consumption by 7%, but the new Animal Protection Law has been sitting on the sidelines for months and was finally approved on August 1, stipulating five key changes that aim primarily at reducing the risk of abandonment and abuse.

The Minister of Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda, Ione Belarra, has celebrated the approval of this first law to protect the rights of animals: “Animal abuse going unpunished and aberrant practices such as cockfighting or shooting pigeon are over. Gone are the days when hundreds of thousands of animals are abandoned every year in our country.”

1. Zero sacrifice

Under the new legislation, owners will only be allowed to euthanise a companion animal for explicit health reasons. From now on, putting a pet to sleep because it is no longer wanted or because shelters are full will be prohibited.

2. Zero abandonment

Last year, some 285,000 dogs and cats arrived in animal shelters in Spain, in fact, this country has one of the worst animal abandonment records in Europe. To bring about a major change, so-called backyard breeders will become illegal and people will only be able to buy a pet from fully legal and registered breeders.

The Ministry also aims to create its first official statistics log on animal abandonment.

3. Animal abuse

The Penal Code has been modified to be much tougher on people who mistreat animals to the extent that they cause their death. In such cases, the prison sentence will be increased from up to 24 months to 36, in the event that it is not a first offence.

In addition, the mistreatment of all vertebrate animals (including wild species, such as boars) has been included in this legislation for the first time ever.

4. Miscellaneous abuses

Other cruel practices such as cockfighting, pigeon shooting, keeping animals tethered to vehicles and the use of choke collars will be prohibited.

5. Captive wild animals

Zoos and dolphinariums will officially become species rehabilitation centres and the use of wild animals in circuses will be prohibited.

Image: Flickr

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