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Spain backtracks on mandatory training for all dog owners
Under the new Animal Welfare Law in Spain, existing dog owners won’t have to take the course
Spain’s first-ever national animal welfare law took effect on September 29 last year, and it has sparked plenty of controversy and confusion. Several rules were also delayed, including the requirement for all dog owners to take an online training course, but the regulations have now been finalised to include one very welcome change.
The draft decree, which the regional governments can contribute to until August 31, stipulates that “people who choose to be owners of a companion dog will have to take a training course, certified by the competent authority”.
The course will be free, will preferably be taught online, will last four hours, will be valid indefinitely and the deadline for taking it will be six months from the date the royal decree comes into force.
However, there’s also an addendum in this edition of the legislation which will come as a relief to many animal owners. According to the Ministry of Social Rights, “only those who acquire, adopt or accept a dog on loan after six months of the royal decree coming into force will have to obtain the certificate”.
In other words, the only owners that will have to sign up for the course are those who acquire their canine companion after the law is definitively approved. For this, there’s still no date, as the government is seeking “the greatest possible consensus” from the breeding sector, pet stores, shelters and welfare groups before the rules come into force.
Insurance
In addition to the training, the government's proposal states that dog owners will have to take out and maintain third-party liability insurance for damages to a value of 100,000 euros.
The insurance will have to be valid for the entire life of the animal, regardless of the breed, and will also have to be taken out within six months of the entry into force of the royal decree. The draft law establishes that home insurance that includes this type of insurance will be valid.
Dangerous dogs
As for potentially dangerous dogs, a category that the government initially tried to eliminate altogether, the draft establishes that animals previously classified as such can be taken off the list once they pass a specially-designed aptitude test before they are one year old.
The test will be carried out by animal behaviour professionals; however, dogs that fail will remain on the potentially dangerous list and owners won’t be allowed to breed them.
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