Approved the Animal Welfare Law: how it will affect your pets

The Animal Welfare and Animal Rights Law has just been approved by Congress, which affects all companion or wild animals in captivity, but excludes hunting, guard and work dogs, and toughens the penalties for those who infringe the regulations, and it is ready to be published in the BOE, after which it will enter into force. The new law will include ten amendments incorporated to the text in the Senate.

We explain how these rules will affect you and your pets. It will be prohibited:

• Leaving a pet unattended for more than three consecutive days, reduced to 24 consecutive hours for dogs.

• Educate animals with methods that cause them suffering, fear or anxiety.
• Leaving them locked in vehicles where the temperature or other conditions put their health and well-being at risk.

• Abandoning or mistreating animals, or not providing them with the necessary care, damaging their physical or psychological health

• Selling certain animals such as dogs, cats or ferrets in stores, although it will be allowed to buy dogs and cats from accredited official breeders who advertise online. A new registry of animals and breeders will also be launched.

• Use them in tourist or advertising activities or in public shows when this causes them any suffering or pain (with the exception of bullfighting), or use them as a claim in raffles, fairs, promotions…
• Use them to beg (homeless people will be able to have their pets with them).
• Feed the animals with viscera or other parts of animals that have not been subjected to the established sanitary controls.
• Dog fighting or training them to attack other animals or people.

• Leaving animals loose, especially in protected spaces such as Natural Parks, in areas where herds graze, or in any place where they can cause harm to people, livestock or the environment. The owner of the animal will be responsible for the damages caused by it and will be penalized for it.

• Keeping certain species such as arthropods, fish and amphibians as pets whose bite or venom may pose serious risks to the health of people and animals, species considered invasive, poisonous reptiles or primates, among others.

Among the obligations of the owners of the animals are:

• Provide animals with decent living conditions that guarantee their well-being and good health. In the case of those that live in cages, terrariums or aquariums, these habitats will be of an adequate size, although the law determines that the conditions for each species will be developed according to regulations.

• Take the animal to the veterinarian with the necessary periodicity so that it receives the vaccines or passes the corresponding examinations, which must be registered.

• Have the animals identified and permanently located and, if a loss or theft occurs, notify the authorities within a maximum period of 48 hours.
• Dog owners must take a simple test that demonstrates their knowledge of dog care, welfare and legislation and take out civil liability insurance that covers owners to third parties.
• Cat owners, for their part, have the obligation to sterilize their cat and identify it with a microchip. If they do not want to neuter the animal, they must register in the Companion Animal Breeders Registry, which is mandatory for those who wish to breed cats or dogs, it will be free and can be done easily online.
• People who have dangerous or threatened species as pets “will have the obligation to notify the competent authorities of the possession of these animals” within six months from the entry into force of the law.
• The list of eight potentially dangerous dog breeds is maintained – Pit Bull Terrier, Rottweiler, Dogo Argentino, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Brazilian Fila, Tosa Inu and Akita Inu – so their owners are required to meet certain requirements: take them on a short leash and always with a muzzle, even in dog parks.