Noelia Manzano has been working in the pet industry for twenty-two years. First as an employee and now in charge of Bichos, the only store in Vigo that still sells dogs and cats. Although, in general, he welcomes the arrival of the preliminary draft of the new animal abuse law, warns “contradictions” which, he predicts, “will especially affect people who have everything in order and comply with the rules & rdquor;. There is an aspect of the text that was approved yesterday in the second round in the Council of Ministers that he calls “gimmicky.” It is about the prohibition of displaying the sale of animals (dogs and cats, fundamentally) in stores facing the public. In the case of Manzano, she herself is an animal breeder and collaborates with forty others throughout the peninsula specialized by type of breed: “This aspect of what is known about the law is absurd. If it goes ahead, I will not be able to sell dogs in the store, but I will be able to continue doing it at home or anywhere else & rdquor ;.
This breeder sees “stupendously” that she “takes the animal trade seriously for once & rdquor ;, but she, she says, “they have gone too far & rdquor ;. She and the breeders with whom she works have been denouncing illegal breeding for years – many times vox populi due to the inaction of the Administration – throughout the Spanish State and they know first-hand “the shortcomings of Seprona when it comes to opening investigations”.
In fact, Galician legislation already obliges all these centers to be registered in the Galician Registry of Zoological Nuclei, where they have to certify the correct adequacy of the holding spaces and a zoosanitary management, hygiene and prophylaxis program signed by the responsible veterinarian, among other requirements. Also the traceability and the obligation of the application of the microchip.
Despite everything, Noelia Manzano has also been able to see positive points in the legislation and its previous steps: “For example, many illegally farmed animals used to be sold on the internet, and it seems that now they are being persecuted more & rdquor ;. He also remembers the ‘boom’ at the end of the nineties with the arrival of dogs from Eastern Europe without any type of guarantee. “In this sense, the pandemic has benefited national breeding because more requirements have been imposed on the importation of this type of animal.” Before, he remembers, “it was an absolute lack of control. The animals died on the way, they did not bring papers, they falsified pedigrees… You saw everything & rdquor ;.
Pursue illegal breeding
In Manzano’s opinion, the fundamental thing is “to persecute illegal breeding and abandonment & rdquor;. At this point, he explains, it is more complex “for the resources that the Civil Guard has & rdquor ;. “Seprona agents come periodically to inspect my store. Everything is always in order and they already know it, but for those who make the rules it is easier to control those of us who are registered and have everything in order than to look for illegal farms & rdquor ;, she laments.
The truth is that the new norm does not leave aside this problem and foresees tougher prison sentences for abandonment and mistreatment, but also for breeding and selling animals. At a social level, disclosure is also required: “To this day, there are still people coming to look for dogs with which to breed. Here we are. People don’t really know that you have to have a license for that.” Although the owner of Bichos also points out “a lot of ignorance of the rules in general & rdquor; and she argues: “I can guarantee you that half of the dogs that come to the store’s hairdresser do not have a microchip and that is mandatory & rdquor ;.
The keys to the norm: mistreatment, sacrifices, circus and abandonment
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The draft bill for the protection, rights and welfare of animals approved yesterday in the Council of Ministers has as its fundamental axis the toughening of penalties for mistreatment through a reform of the Penal Code, according to the Ministry of Social Rights, led by Ione Belarra. At the same time, it intends to prohibit the use of animals in activities and shows in which they may suffer harm, cruelty or death, such as cockfights or pigeon shooting. In this way, the legislative project is ready to begin its parliamentary process where amendments are foreseen that the groups have not yet advanced.
The bill provides for the hardening of the crime of mistreatment, which in the event of death reaches sentences of up to 24 months, which will rise to 36 months in the event that more than one aggravating circumstance occurs. Also, Included in these assumptions are all vertebrate animals, such as wild boars, whose mistreatment did not carry criminal charges until now. The law also contemplates the prohibition of the sacrifice of companion animals, except for sanitary and euthanasia reasons. On the other hand, circuses with animals and the commercialization of dogs, cats and ferrets in pet stores, as well as their display and exposure to the public for commercial purposes, are prohibited. Likewise, the zoos and dolphinariums will be converted, as planned in the draft, into recovery centers for native species.