The Basque city of Vitoria has voted in “savage” animal protection laws, which the city council claims are the strongest in Spain.
However, donkey races and bullfighting are still permitted. The council claims that they have no powers to control these acts, and as such they have not attempted to exceed the limits of their powers. However, ex-councillor of Culture, Encina Serrano, told a newspaper that the townhall was simply too scared of the backlash to regulate los toros, saying that “Los toros no podemos dejar de ofrecerlos. ¡La polémica sería tremenda!” (We can’t stop offering bullfighting. The outburst would be tremendous!)
Some of the new bylaws:
- Pets cannot be tied up or confined for more than eight hours without being given at least half an hour of intense physical exercise
- Dogs cannot be left alone for more than three days
- All poo-poos to be picked up
- Dogs cannot be off the leash near children playparks or in crowded areas
- Animals must be given non-alcoholic drinks and food during exercise (not sure about the inclusion of the non-alcoholic bit, do the gasteiztarras often share a beer with their dogs?)
- Animals cannot be left unaccompanied inside a vehicle
- No animals are to exhibited or used for entertainment without a specific license
Fines oscillate from €750 to €3000 per offence.