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 New
Dog Licence by the end of the year
Spain
has now announced new laws No 50/99
which could affect you. A list of dogs
considered dangerous has been drawn up
as follows:-
Pit Bull and all Bull breeds
All Mastiffs
Canary Island
Prey Dog
Caucasian Shepherd
Bordeaux
Brazilian Fila
Akita
Doberman
Rottweiller
Corsican Can
German Shepherds
Most dogs over 25 Kilos in weight -
obtain information from your local Town
Hall.
The new decree prohibits the training of
dogs to attack, or to guard or defend
their owners or to give them any sort of
training that might increase their
aggressiveness. Fines vary from 2,400 to
15,025 euros. Dogs are banned from
area’s where children play. Dogs must
wear a muzzle in all public places and
be kept on a leash at all times. Leads
must not be longer than one metre in
length. A lost dog must be reported to
the Police immediately.
All dogs that have any record of human
or dog aggression or any dog that shows
aggressive behaviour or any dog
considered by the authorities to be
dangerous, must now be registered and in
possession of a special Licencia
Municipal.
I strongly recommend that you seek
further information from your local
authority and seek further information
from your vet who should be aware of the
local legal requirements.
Spain
is a Federal country and has 17
different "Comunidades" or Federal
states with their own parliament,
government and also laws. A law in one
"Comunidad" could be different from a
similar law in another "Comunidad".
There are still a few Municipals area’s,
which have not yet put this into effect
therefore I strongly urge you to check
with your local Municipality.
In Valencia, Madrid,
Barcelona and
other large cities a list has been made
of "Perros Potencialmente Peligrosos",
dogs who could potentially be dangerous,
and of course the Rottie, Doberman, Pit
Bull Terrier, Dogo Argentino, Akita Dogo
de Burdeos, Staffordshire, Presa
Canaria, Fila Brasilero, etc are on the
list, and also their crossbreeds. This
means any dog crossed with any of the
breeds on the list. You can only walk
these dogs on a short lead of 1 metre
and they always have to wear a muzzle
once they are outside the home or in the
car. Even if your dog is not one of
those listed breeds, but has bitten a
person or child in the past, it will be
classified as if it was on the list of
the dangerous dogs.
If you want to own a dog which is on the
Dangerous list, you have to go and see a
psychologist and do a test on a computer
(not difficult) just the same as for
driving a car and costs 60 to 72 euros.
If you are a resident in
Spain you will have to apply for a
document from the Ministry for the
Interior, confirming that you do not
have a criminal record. If you are not a
resident in Spain, you have
to apply for such a document in your
country of origin and have it translated
in Spanish. Take the originals with you
to the Town Hall (Ayuntamiento).
If you want to walk your potentially
dangerous dog without a muzzle, you and
your dog will have to pass a test with a
vet. The vet will ask you a lot of
questions and handle the dog himself
because he has to confirm that you will
have your dog under control in whatever
circumstances and also that your dog
will not react in an aggressive way if
he is approached by a stranger. This
test is only valid for 1 year and costs
about (48 Euro). This certification that
you can control your dog must be taken
to the town hall when you register.
Pet owners are required by law to obtain
a special insurance for their dogs with
a liability of at least 120.000 euros.
You will be required to take a copy of
your Insurance Policy with you to the
town hall.
You will also need to present 2 pictures
of yourself and your dog when you go to
the town hall.
Your dog must have a chip for personal
identification underneath his skin. You
will also be required to take the form
confirming that the dog has a chip with
you to the Town Hall, together with the
booklet which has been given to you by
your vet confirming that your
vaccinations are up to date and
registered.
If you have all these documents (and
pictures) you will have to go to the
Town Hall, show your passport or
resident's permit and fill out 2 Spanish
forms. The first one is an application
form confirming that you want to have a
permit for your potentially dangerous
dog; the second one is a form confirming
that you want to register your dog in
the municipal register. On this second
form you will have to state that you
have a guard dog, a dog for personal
defence, a dog for personal protection
or for other reasons and also if the dog
has been trained, where it has been
trained and by whom.
The application for a potentially
dangerous dog is valid for only 3 years.
Finally I would comment that each area
has its own forms used by the various
municipalities and these might be
different, but they all want as much
information about you and your dog as
possible. Not every vet is qualified to
subject you and your dog to the test of
non aggression. Only the vets which have
taken the course about non aggression
with their "Colegio" or professional
body.
Some psychologists are using the same
tests as the ones they use for people
wanting to buy a gun. Others have
changed the contents a little bit. Some
have made translations of the test
forms, but please be cautious because I
have seen translations where huge chunks
of text have disappeared and others
where the meaning of the Spanish
question was totally altered in the
Dutch, French, German or English
translation.
This is not an easy application and
unless you are able to speak and read
Spanish fluently I would strongly
recommend that you first discuss this
with your vet and seek his assistance on
each stage. You should also be prepared
to pay your vet for this service.
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