Pets will legally be members of the family from this Wednesday in Spain

The

will from Wednesday in

a legal status different from that of material goods and since then are considered "living beings with sensitivity" and not as things, which will give them a consideration of family members.

This change is due to a triple legal reform of

, the

and the

finally approved by the

on December 2 and published on December 16 in the

(

) .

The text does not specify when it will take effect.

Parliamentary sources informed Servimedia that in these cases the

applies

, which will be in force 20 days after its publication in the BOE, that is, on January 5, 2022.

The norm regulates the joint custody of companion animals in the event of divorce or separation and indicates that pets should not be seized or mortgaged, that they are not abandoned, that they are not caused suffering or pain, and that they should not be used as a tool in gender violence and that they can be disposed of by will.

This initiative, presented by the

in Congress, inherits other proposals from the last legislature, specifically a non-law proposal presented by

and a

law proposal

(both approved unanimously), but this declined in the presentation phase of the

after about a year of work because the

were dissolved with the announcement of early general elections.

However, the origin is in a popular legislative initiative promoted in 2015 by the

, which collected more than 500,000 signatures so that animals stop being things in the Civil Code to be considered sentient beings.

The proposed 'de-objectification' of animals is in addition to legislative changes approved in other countries or territories in

(

in 1986,

in 1990,

in 2003,

in 2009,

in 2015 and

in 2017, as well as

in 2006), as well as outside the continent (

and

, for example).

Child custody

The law introduces a new article in the

that considers that "animals are living beings endowed with sensitivity" and that the owner must exercise his rights over him and his duties of care respecting that quality and ensure "their well-being according to the characteristics of each species ".

The measures adopted by the judge in the event of divorce, annulment or separation may be judicially modified or by a new agreement when so advised not only by the needs of the children or the change in the circumstances of the spouses, but also "the new needs of companion animals ".

In addition, the judicial authority may agree to the participation of the spouses in the expenses of maintenance and care of the animal, and decide the fate of the latter if there is no agreement between the members of the former couple, taking into account the interest of the separated couple and the welfare of the animal, and being able to foresee the distribution of the times of enjoyment and care of the animal if necessary.

The text indicates that the judges may decide that parents do not share their children with their former partners when they are going to separate if they have mistreated or threaten to mistreat pets as a form of

or gender

to control or victimize their spouse or children.

The justification is that animal abuse can be used as a control tool, a form of abuse or psychological or indirect abuse within the family environment, either towards minors or towards the partner, which must be considered by the judges to grant or not the joint guardianship of the children.

The text emphasizes that whoever finds a lost animal must hand it over to its owner or whoever is responsible for its care, unless there are well-founded indications of mistreatment or abandonment, when it will be brought to the attention of the competent authorities.

If you return it to the owner or responsible for its care, you can claim the expenses of treatment and care.

Non-attachable for non-payments

The modification of the

refers to the fact that animals from livestock, industrial or recreational farms will not be included in the mortgages, and the reform of the Civil Procedure Law refers to the fact that companion animals are not liable for non-payment.

In summary, the text allows animals to be considered sentient beings and not things, shared custody in cases of separation or divorce, that animals are not mortgaged or seized and they are not used as a tool of gender violence or vicarious to control or victimize women and children.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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