The PSOE manages to leave hunting dogs out of the future animal welfare law

Protest against the PSOE motion to exclude hunting dogs from the Animal Protection Law, on September 30 together with Congress. Eduardo Parra (Europa Press)

The PSOE has finally managed this Thursday to leave hunting dogs out of the future animal welfare law, a commitment that the majority partner of the Government had acquired with the hunting sector and groups in rural areas.

Faced with the opposition of United We Can and other regular members of the Executive, the amendment has been approved in the congressional commission that processes the rule with the support of PP, PNV, Vox and Ciudadanos, among others.

Despite the modification, the opinion of the law of the Ministry of Social Rights, directed by the general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, has gone ahead and must now be voted on in full.

The discontent of the minority group of the coalition, which has supported the vote on the report to prevent the rule from falling, was evident this Thursday,

Contrary to what happened a few weeks ago with the PSOE amendment on gender self-determination in minors in the

in this case it was Unidas Podemos that was in the minority in defense of the application of the law to dogs hunting.

The Socialists had stressed this week that they accepted the result of the Equality commission and wanted Podemos to be the one to give in now.

After the vote, the Secretary of State for the 2030 Agenda, Lilith Verstrynge, has once again accused the Socialists of "siding with the abusers", and has denounced that they have "relied on PP and Vox" right at the same time. week in which the popular "have promoted a blow to popular sovereignty in the Constitutional Court", in reference to the clash between the Cortes and the body of guarantees.

"They have formed an anti-nature coalition", has deepened the deputy of Alianza Verde, Juan López de Uralde.

The immovable positions of one and the other led to the commission being called and called off several times in recent days, which has caused enormous anger among the regular members of the Executive.

During this Thursday's meeting of the commission, all the groups (from right to left) have been very harsh with the proceeding and the comings and goings of the parties in the Government.

The discomfort was made explicit by the deputy of EH Bildu, Jon Iñarritu: "There is a recommendation that is not to speak a lot when you are angry, and taking into account both the substance of the matter and the procedure of this commission, it is best that I do not speak on this occasion."

On behalf of ERC, Joan Capdevila has also made ugly the attitude of the two partners in the process, which, in his opinion, is "the best example" of how a law should not be made.

If that amendment had not been incorporated, the law, once approved, would have made it difficult to slaughter dogs except to avoid suffering and prohibited carrying animals tied to moving vehicles, one of the ways to train greyhounds.

Animals should be registered in the Companion Animals Registry and, in order to have puppies, the owners would have to be registered in the breeders' registry.

Both measures seek to reduce abandonment, but they annoyed hunters, accustomed to giving away and trading dogs without paper in between.

However, the PSOE has defended since September (when it presented a first amendment a month after the law was approved by the Council of Ministers) removing these animals from the norm and then making specific legislation for the sector.

The socialists considered this non-negotiable point.

The text of the amendment approved this Thursday establishes that hunting dogs, rehalas and auxiliary hunting animals will be excluded from the norm.

And it is added that "all of them are regulated and will be protected by the corresponding current European, state and regional regulations and that apply to them outside of this law".

Despite the clash between the two government partners (and the indignation of the allies), the full opinion of the law has gone ahead in the same Social Rights Commission with the support of PSOE, Unidas Podemos, ERC and Bildu.

Now, he must go to the plenary session of the Congress of Deputies, something that socialist sources anticipate could happen in January.

In all this process it is still possible to include amendments, although the PSOE does not seem willing to move.

More information

What changes the future animal welfare law for those who have pets: courses for all dog owners and cat sterilization

Apart from the controversy over hunting dogs, the law includes the obligation for people "who choose to own dogs" to carry out "a training course for the possession" of these animals.

Also, "third party liability insurance" will be required for any dog ​​owner.

It is a regulation similar to the one that already exists in some communities, such as Madrid and the Basque Country.

And it will be punished "leaving any pet unsupervised for more than three consecutive days", a term that "may not exceed 24 hours for the canine species".

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