[Animals] Animal protection law: the government wants to prohibit leaving a dog unsupervised for more than 24 hours

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Currently, an abandoned pet will live or die depending on the autonomous community in which it is. In Madrid or Catalonia, for example, he is going to be saved, but in Andalusia he can be sacrificed. The draft law on the protection and rights of animals, in public information from today, wants to change this and create a common framework that puts an end to the disparities that the existence of 17 different regional laws and the behaviors that harm the animals of company. The rule is aimed at pets and excludes food production species or other specimens of animal origin - even if there is only one -, livestock and bullfighting. Among the most applauded measures is the prohibition of sacrificing animals except for a just cause; the veto on the use of wild fauna in circuses; the creation of a registry of people disqualified for their possession, or the end of the sale of pets in store. Other points in the text generate more controversy, such as the obligation to sterilize pets if there are several different-sex specimens that can reproduce.

The objective of the law is to achieve zero slaughter, an impossible scenario if there is abandonment - an estimate by the federation of protective associations FAPAM estimates that about 300,000 dogs and cats are abandoned per year -, which leads to euthanasia without justification at 20 or 25 days after the specimens arrive at the kennel if no one adopts them. In Spain there are more than 13 million registered and identified companion animals, to which must be added another 6.5 million that are not officially controlled, indicates the text prepared by the General Directorate of Animal Rights, which depends of the Ministry of Social Services. The law is expected to take effect on January 1, 2023.

Dogs no more than 24 hours alone
Euthanasia will only occur if it is justified, with the sole purpose of avoiding the suffering of the animal and under veterinary control. Nothing more. It is prohibited in public or private animal protection centers; and in veterinary clinics or zoos for reasons other than those contemplated by law, such as economic issues, lack of places, abandonment of the owner ... Nacho Paunero, president of the shelter El Refugio, considers a "disappointment" the way the that this part of the text is written, because it considers that "it will become a drain for sacrifice as incurable diseases appear as a cause of death." "There are dogs that can live with leishmaniasis, which is incurable," he specified.

Nor can wildlife be used in circuses, a less restrictive measure than that of certain autonomies that already add any type of animal, not just lions or elephants. “It is a law of mandatory minimums, from there the regional governments will be able to specify more”, explains Sergio García Torres, general director of Animal Rights. Living beings also disappear from the fairground attractions and it is no longer possible to leave them permanently on terraces, storage rooms, basements or vehicles, or without supervision for three consecutive days. In the case of dogs, the period cannot exceed 24 hours. Sheepdogs or those that guard farms or companies can be supervised with GPS technology or with video surveillance cameras.

 

https://elpais.com/clima-y-medio-ambiente/2021-10-06/ley-de-proteccion-animal-el-gobierno-quiere-prohibir-que-se-deje-a-un-perro-sin-supervision-mas-de-24-horas.html