A NEW law proposal unanimously backed in Spanish Parliament would see domestic animals being classed as 'living beings with feelings' rather than 'objects'.
This prevents their being embargoed in the event of debt and covers their wellbeing, custody and access visits in the event of divorce or inheritance.
Put forward by centre-right Ciudadanos, Spain's fourth-largest political force, the reform would come in the shape of an amendment to the Civil Code, the Mortgage Law and the Law of Civil Judgment, and would be similar to provisions enshrined in legislation this year in Portugal and two years ago in France.
The governing right-wing PP has agreed to the proposal, and its MP for animal protection, Avelino Barrionuevo, says it would protect pets from neglect or ill-treatment, making both a criminal offence.
Secured loans could no longer be taken out against animals and they would not be able to be seized in debt recovery operations.
In the event of divorce or separation, custody decisions would be made based upon the animal's welfare as a priority, and it is likely that access arrangements or programmed visits would be agreed for the half of the couple who does not live with the animal.
Whilst all parties have supported the new law wholeheartedly, those on the left believe it falls short of offering animals the full protection they deserve.
Socialist MP Javier Antón says it should include a clause that prevents anyone who has committed a crime against animals from owning or buying one, in order to make society aware that pets are not 'toys' and should not be acquired on a whim and then disposed of when they lose their novelty value.
Antón also wants to see animal shelters given the status of 'refuge' in the same way a children's home or battered wives' centre is currently considered.
MP for Equo-Podemos, Juan López de Uralde, has called for the law to axe the category of 'Cultural Heritage' which allows bull-fighting and other bull-torturing 'festivals', to ban these from being televised and block the import of bull calves from eastern Europe, a practice he considers 'of dubious legality'.
Also, López de Uralde has called for a State Animal Protection Law and for IVA on veterinary products to come down from the 21% top rung to 10%, saying that with taxes being so high, owners are more likely not to attend to their pets' health needs as they cannot afford to take them to the vet.
Ciudadanos' Guillermo Díaz wants to toughen up the Criminal Code, which he says at present treats those guilty of animal cruelty 'the same as someone who steals a wallet'.
“We need an offenders' register and for those who are cruel to animals to be given lifelong injunctions preventing them from going near animals,” Díaz says.
He also wants a ban on pets being on display in shop windows or on being given as prizes in competitions, and for promotional campaigns to try to prevent animal-dumping, which affects 140,000 pets a year in Spain.
Pro-animal political party PACMA wants a complete protection law which bans pet pounds from putting unclaimed strays to sleep except on entirely humane grounds, prevents animals being bred indiscriminately 'in cramped and insalubrious conditions' for sale in pet shops or on farms, and all 'cruel practices and spectacles' involving animals – including hunting – to be outlawed.
The Parliamentary Association for the Protection of Animal Rights (APDDA) has called for a series of additional clauses to guarantee pets' welfare, but says it is pleased that 'at last' the government has 'listened to our pleas' and that 'new horizons for greater respect and care for our animals is drawing ever closer'.
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