Spain's Animal Welfare Law was brought in early last year to try and improve conditions for pets, stop the problem of abandonment and to control the breeding and selling of animals. Despite several changes to the law already, the government plans to make more amendments with regards to the course for dog owners, as well as other rules.
If you're a pet owner in Spain, here's what you need to be aware of if the new changes are approved.
No compulsory course for those who are already dog owners
One of the main proposals is a complete U-turn on the new compulsory course for dog owners. The government has now suggested that the course should no longer be mandatory for those who already own dogs, but that it should only be undertaken by new dog owners.
The course can be completed in person or online, and its main objective is so pet owners can acquire basic knowledge "in the handling, care and keeping of animals".
Among other aspects, you must agree that you will not leave your dog home alone for more than 24 hours or locked up on a balcony, terrace or patio.
According to a draft of the royal decree, the Ministry of Social Rights proposes a period of six months from the publication of the decree for the dog ownership course to be mandatory. This means that anyone who already owns a dog before this time, will not have to take part.
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Public liability insurance
Other changes in the draft includes an alteration to the need to take out civil liability insurance for your pet in order to protect third parties. According to the proposal, public liability insurance for dogs will not be mandatory immediately, but the government may check it within a period of one year.
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Pet registration
Under the Animal Welfare Law, all pets must now be officially registered with the authorities and have an ID chip with all their necessary details, plus your details as their owner. The government has said that this will continue to be mandatory, but the procedures will be simplified. Also, the obligatory electronic identification for animals less than three months old will be eliminated.
Dangerous dogs
Originally, the Animal Welfare Law scrapped the list of dangerous dogs and only proposed to evaluate each individual dog on the basis of sociability. But, because of the controversial nature of this point, the draft proposes a new scale for evaluating the dangerousness of dogs, which will be more objective and more scientific than the current ones.
READ ALSO: What to do if you find an abandoned dog or cat in Spain
The government has said that they believe that Animal Protection and Welfare Law has already shown important progress, but there is still work to do for its complete implementation.
The local governments of each individual region in the country will now have until August 31st to present changes to the text and suggest any amendments to these rules, before any new regulations officially come into force.
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