New Law 7/2023: Obligations and Changes for Dog Owners and Animal Rights

As of this Friday, September 29, 2023, the Law 7/2023, of March 28for the protection of the rights and welfare of animals, published in the BOE on March 29 of this year, which would be valid 6 months after its publication.

Regarding the mandatory nature of civil liability insurance for damages to third parties in the case of having dogs, the General Directorate of Animal Rights (Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030) has been obliged to clarify whether this “obligation” is of application or not, once the standard and its regulatory article have come into force.

Article 30 of this standard establishes the following Obligations for those who have dogs:

1. People who choose to own dogs must prove the carrying out a training course for dog ownership that will be valid indefinitely.

2. Said training course will be free and its content will be determined by regulation.

3. In the case of ownership of dogs and throughout the life of the animal, the owner must contract and maintain in force civil liability insurance for damages to third partieswhich includes in its coverage the persons responsible for the animal, for an amount sufficient to cover the possible derived expenses, which will be established by regulation.

Well, the information note from the General Directorate of Animal Rights clarifies the following:

a) Dog ownership civil liability insurance

The obligation to contract and maintain in force civil liability insurance for natural or legal persons owning dogsestablished in article 30.3 of Law 7/2023, of March 28, It would come into force on September 29, 2023, in accordance with its ninth final provision. Yes ok, In pure legal terms, it is not effectively applicable until the regulatory development of said precept occurs.in accordance with the provisions thereof. Likewise, the provisions on this matter in the regional and local regulations that already establish, in some cases, the obligation to have civil liability insurance for dog ownership must be taken into account. Finally, in the case of potentially dangerous dogsthe specific regulations (Royal Decree 28/2002, of March 22, which develops Law 50/1999, of December 23, on the legal regime for the possession of potentially dangerous animals) requires that the minimum civil liability insurance coverage be at least €120,000. On the other hand, it is recommended to consult insurance companies to advise on dogs that could be included in home insurance policies, depending on their type, applicable regulations and other aspects.

b) Other obligations

In relation to other obligations regulated in Law 7/2023, of March 28, that require regulatory development, such as the Completion of the responsible ownership course or identification of animals included in the positive list, other than the dog, cat and ferret species, will be applicable once the aforementioned regulatory development comes into force.

Other measures that have come into force would be the following:

• Ban on the slaughter of petsexcept in the cases and with the conditions contemplated in the law
• The conditions of breeding, possession and trade of wild animals not included in the positive list of pets, as well as the breeding of non-native species, are specifically regulated.
• It also establishes the legal framework for the management of feline populations in the wild, colonies originating from abandoned, lost or unsterilized marauding cats and litters from these, which are the product of irresponsible ownership.
• As a novel addition, the classification for the first time of the different types of animal protection entitiesdepending on its purpose, establishing the registration requirements in the Registry of animal protection entities.
• Breeding can only be done by registered breederswith veterinary supervision mechanisms, to ensure that it is carried out in a responsible and moderate manner.
• The regulation of the sale or adoption of petsestablishing only the possibility of being carried out by breeding professionals, specialized and authorized stores or animal protection centers.