The new Animal Welfare Law has not yet entered into force and is already causing controversy. The latest has come from the hands of the PSOE, which proposes an amendment to remove hunting dogs, rehalas and hunting auxiliaries from the protection of said law. Something that has led numerous animal associations, protectors and famous animal lovers such as Fernando Tejero or Susanna Griso to raise their voices.
The PSOE has presented an amendment that seeks to exclude game animals from the Animal Welfare Law. To them would also be added the animals of specific activities, whether sports, falconry, sheepdogs and livestock guardiansand animals of the State Security Forces and Bodies.
This has raised a lot of controversy among animal lovers, animal protection groups, who have manifested against excluding them under the motto “Same Dogs Same Laws” and “No Hunting”. Among them is Susanna Griso, owner of a greyhound (one of the most used breeds in hunting)
“Do you understand that hunting dogs are left without any type of legal protection? I honestly do not. I say this from the knowledge of having a greyhound that has been mistreated to infinity. Same dogs, same law. No to the amendment of the PSOE.” -Susanna Gray.
Other controversial issues: fines for having puppies
The concern that this law has generated is not only in the PSOE amendment. It has raised a lot of questions among animal owners, such as whether we will have to castrate our pets or if there will be fines because they get pregnant. This is confirmed by colleagues from Magnet:
“Article 27 establishes the prohibition of raising animals by those who are not registered in the Registry of Pet Breeders, a procedure that simply consists of an “online, easy and free” registration, whose purpose is to register all the animals that In case of not doing so, in addition to that first fine, if the owner reoffends within three years, the amount to be paid will be between €10,000 and €50,000.”
Refering to castration, for now we know that it is mandatory for cats: “Article 26 of the bill contemplates the obligation to “identify by means of a microchip and proceed to surgical sterilization of all cats before six months of age.”
Dog insurance and a training course
Until now it was only mandatory to have pet insurance in Madrid and the Basque Country. But the new law plans to make dog insurance mandatory for all dog owners. In addition, “it will force dog owners to take a free training course to be able to have them.”
Photos | @susannagrisooficial, @asociacion_anaa, Unsplash.
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