Most people who decide to have a pet at home choose dogs, cats, birds, certain rodents, such as hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits –Belier, Dutch…–, or even a friendly ferret. However, there are also those who opt for exotic animals, from a lizard like the gecko, to a snake or even insects like the Praying Mantis. The Animal Welfare Law – which was approved in August 2022 and is expected to come into force before the end of the year – introduces some changes regarding companion animals and will include a list specifying which animals can be kept in house and which ones will be prohibited as pets.
The objective of the standard is to prevent animal abuse and maintain environmental balance to prevent having certain animals as pets from having a negative influence on the conservation of the environment and native species. To prepare the list of allowed animals, the environment, behavior and physiological needs of the animal have been taken into account, as well as scientific data on the aggressiveness of the pet (poison, size or behavior) that could put people at risk or contribute to the animal causing damage if it escapes or is abandoned.
Which animals will not be allowed to have at home in Spain
The presence in the home of some animals was already prohibited because they had been included in the Spanish Catalog of Invasive Alien Species, such as the Vietnamese pig, which was no longer considered a pet in Spain in 2019, or the Argentine parrot. Now, a new list has been drawn up including species whose ecological, ethological and physiological needs are not easy to meet, or which can develop aggressive behaviors or damage the ecosystem if released. These are the animals that are not allowed under the Animal Welfare Bill:
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Rabbits and rodents: mice, hamsters, chinchillas or guinea pigs. In the case of rodents, the reason they are prohibited is to preserve wild and native fauna because many of them are invasive and constitute a significant risk for the conservation of biodiversity. The rabbit, for example, can cause serious environmental damage.
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Turtles: some species are vulnerable and in the wild compete for food with native species.
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Birds: parrots, lovebirds or parakeets, among other non-native species that breed in Spain. In fact, the Argentine parrot has become a veritable plague in the parks of some cities and towns in Madrid and Barcelona, and in addition to displacing native species, such as sparrows, they constitute a danger to trees because their nests can reach weigh 200 kilos.
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Exotic reptiles: snakes, iguanas, lizards of all kinds, chameleons or geckos, within the category of non-native species.
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Spiders: these arachnids are potential carriers of very dangerous diseases for humans.
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Vietnamese pig: many of those that were acquired when it became fashionable a few years ago were later abandoned as they increased in size, and breeding in the wild among them or mixing with wild boar has resulted in overpopulation.
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Hedgehog: poses a danger to native species.
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