The new Animal Welfare Law does not stop raising controversy without even having to come into force. From the amendment to remove hunting dogs, rehalas and hunting auxiliaries from the protection of said law to the expansion of the list of pets whose possession would be prohibited in Spanish homes. Especially since the latter could go on to include animals that are currently in many houses.
Requirements for an animal to be considered domestic
The prohibition of possession and breeding by individuals of certain animal species is not something new in Spain. Since 2013, many have been included in the Spanish Catalog of Invasive Alien Species, which prohibits having them at home. raccoons, Argentine parrots, lovebirds, Vietnamese pigs, peninsular tortoise, hedgehogs or coatisamong other animals that will come to join more with the new Animal Welfare Law.
To appear on the list of permitted species, which will be approved after the approval of the law, a series of requirements to comply for an animal to be considered domestic.
These are that the species is easy to attend to in terms of its ecological, physiological and ethological needs, that it has been scientifically proven that it can live in captivity, that it does not pose a risk to people due to its aggressiveness, poison or size , Y that there is no risk that it could become an invasive speciesin case of escaping, colonizing habitats and causing environmental damage.
The problem of invasive species
Although the legal text is in process and does not yet establish a list of allowed animals, according to this last point, they would be left out of the allowed species when it comes to having animals as common as: mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, chinchillas, rabbits, turtles, parakeets and parrots. As well as more unusual ones like snakes, spiders, iguanas, chameleons, geckos and birds originating from other countries.
And it is that many of those mentioned in the list, such as rodents, are species on which there is certainty of its invasive nature or that, in case of escape and lack of control, pose or may pose a serious risk to the conservation of biodiversity.
In the case of parakeets and other non-native birds, the fact that they are wild species of fauna not naturally present in Spain would apply. While the turtles would stay out to contain a significant number of disease-transmitting pathogenic vectors.
However, in the member countries of the European Union there is no unanimity regarding what should be understood by “companion animal” and, in fact, Holland has a similar law since 2015 with 30 species allowed, among which are some types of rodents, rabbits and even ferrets, wild boars, alpacas and buffalo.
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