A LAW dating back 22 years requiring owners of certain dog breeds to register them with the council, pay a tax and keep them muzzled and on a lead could be about to change now that Spain's government is considering a review of the 'dangerous' label.
Behaviour, not breed, will be considered for special restraint and training measures under proposed new law (photo: Fontibón360)
Director-General of Animal Rights, Sergio García Torres, spoke at the political conference organised by the Spanish Royal Canine Society, and advocated the 'dangerous breeds' criteria be assessed on a 'dog-by-dog' basis.
Most people who have any contact with animals have met pitbulls, Rottweilers, Dobermanns or other, similarly-categorised dogs who are complete 'softies' and would not harm a fly, whilst some dogs who have shown aggressive behaviour may be of breeds not on the 'compulsory registration' list.
García Torres and the Royal Canine Society are concerned that the 'potentially dangerous' list creates prejudice against entire breeds which may not be at all justified in a high number of individual cases.
To this end, a law reform underway is seeking to 'validate the behaviour' of specific animals 'without taking into account the given breed they were born into'.
Replacing Law number 50/1999, the legislation will cover dogs whose character means they need 'special handling' or 'expert management', and require them to be trained in behaviour improvement techniques to prevent, or stop, them being 'dangerous'.
Unlike in other countries, Spanish legislation does not automatically require a dog who attacks a human to be put to sleep – in fact, this is avoided as far as possible and would only happen where the animal was a serial public danger and too 'far gone' for even canine behavioural experts to retrain them to be safe.
García Torres says he wants national law to work towards an end to pets being dumped and for zero animal euthanasia except on purely humane grounds, where the creature is actively and incurably suffering and no remedies are available in life – much along the same grounds as the newly-approved euthanasia law for humans.
The Royal Canine Society (RSCE) has called for legislation that makes dog identification universal, protects and promotes native breeds, accredits the work of 'ethical and responsible breeders', and actively educates children and young people in 'values that encourage respect and empathy for animals'.
García Torres says the law being prepared by Spain's government – the draft of which is at the 'public information' stage, meaning it can be consulted by society and is open to appeals – focuses on streamlining the 17 different regional government laws, none of which are exactly the same, and on setting up an 'Animal Protection Registration System' (SRPA).
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com