New Dog Laws

New Dog Laws 2007

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

Doberman

Rottweiller

Corsican Can

German Shepherds.

All dogs over 25 Kilos in weight.

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 both your local authority and from your vet who should be aware of the 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 areas, 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, Dobermann, Pit Bull Terrier, Dogo Argentino, 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 Dog list, you have to go and see a psychologist and do a test which of course will be in Spanish, just the same kind of test people have to pass if they want to buy a gun (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 euros. 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 per 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.

Many laws exist in Spain but until an incident actually occurs some of them are not upheld.  Which is what happened to some dear friends of mine.  They rescued the most fantastic German Shepherd with such a sweet nature and called him Khan or indeed Mr. Khan to be precise!  He lives with two Weimeraners  and a little Yorkie X.  One day during feeding time, Khan and one of the Weimeraners had a set to. This had never happened before and their Mum intervened and got bitten quite badly on her leg by accident. At the hospital she was asked many questions and she explained what happened.  The next day the Guardia Civil turned up at the house along with a Dog Van all set to take Khan away.  My friend’s world was just completely turned upside down!  Fortunately, they were able to produce Khan’s Pet Passport which showed that all was in order and up to date.  For this reason only, the Guardia Civil explained that they would not take Khan away but he must be assessed by a Vet and then be taken down to the Town Hall where an appointment would be made for him to be assessed by a Police Vet.  Fortunately, the clerk at the Town Hall, who spoke English, was very sympathetic towards Khan and having read the independent Vet’s Report and understanding the actual incident, decided not to pursue the matter any further. It was a lesson learnt – if you get bitten accidentally by one of your dogs and need to go to the hospital, just say you were bitten by a stray that you were feeding.

Mr. Khan