The draft of the Law on Protection, Rights and Welfare of Animals

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Noticias:

The draft of the Law on Protection, Rights and Welfare of Animals, promoted by the Minister of United We Can Ione Belarra, will prohibit the domestic breeding of any pet and provides for between 500 and 10,000 euros of fine if they procreate, and forces to sterilize all cats.

 

If the law proposed by the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2023 is approved in Parliament, the prohibition of breeding will affect all individuals, except for those who register in the so-called "Registry of Pet Breeders".

 

Only those who do would be exempt from this measure, which would completely affect the traditional breeding in the homes of domestic animals - such as dogs, cats, birds and other species. The practice is particularly widespread in rural settings.

 

The measure is expressly included in article 27 of the draft law: "The following activities on pets are expressly prohibited," warns the same. In its section "k" specifies is prohibited "the breeding of any species of companion animal by breeders not registered in the Register of Pet Breeders".

 

And what happens if an owner – or their pet, following their instinct – disobeys this prohibition? Article 81 of the law frames as "minor infractions" those behaviors that, "by action or omission, lead to the non-observance of the prohibitions and obligations established in this law", as is the case of domestic breeding.

 

Next, article 84 specifies that "the infractions provided for in this law will be sanctioned", in the case of "minor infractions", with "warning or fine of five hundred to ten thousand euros". In turn, the draft details that, in case of incurring more than twice in a minor infraction, it will be considered serious, with penalties provided "from ten thousand one to fifty thousand euros".

 

Along the same lines, article 26 of the preliminary draft, which specifies the "specific obligations with respect to pets", contemplates in section "i" the obligation to "identify by microchip and proceed to the surgical sterilization of all cats before six months of age".

 

Again, with one exception, those cats "registered in the identification register as breeders and in the name of a breeder registered in the Register of Pet Breeders".

 

"Avoid reproduction"

 

Cats are the only animal whose compulsory sterilization is set out in Article 26. The obligation for the rest of the species is more ambiguous: "Adopt the necessary measures to avoid the uncontrolled reproduction of companion animals", specifies section "d", which insists again that "breeding can only be carried out by people responsible for the activity of breeding companion animals".

 

The ban on pet breeding is not the only controversial aspect of the bill. It also contemplates the creation of a "positive list of pets". It is a catalog where the legal pet species will be recorded. If this rule is approved in the Congress of Deputies, those that do not appear in such a compendium will be illegal, and must be seized for conservation in zoos or aquariums.