A new Spanish law strengthens animal rights but exempts bullfights and hunting with dogs
MADRID (AP) — A new animal welfare law that took effect Friday in Spain outlaws the use of animals for recreational activities that cause them pain and suffering but allows bullfights and hunting with dogs.
Spain’s first specific animal rights legislation is intended to crack down on abuses. The law particularly targets the mistreatment of domestic animals, introducing fines of up to 200,000 euros ($212,000).
It bans the buying of pets in stores or online, but gives stores a grace period to find homes for their animals. In the future, it only will be legal to purchase pets from registered breeders. The new rules allow pets into most establishments, including restaurants and bars.
The law bans the use of wild animals at circuses and gives owners six months to comply. It allows zoos to keep using the marine mammals in their dolphin shows until the animals die.
Bullfights are regarded as part of Spain’s cultural heritage. A proposal to include hunting dogs in the law prompted an outcry in some rural communities, and the government backed down.
Government statistics estimate some 29 million animals are kept as pets in Spain, most of them dogs. But around 300,000 are abandoned each year, and about one-third of those are put down.
The law also aims to introduce mandatory pet insurance and registration as well as training for owners. However, those requirements and some other legal aspects were delayed because detailed administrative procedures have not been drawn up in the absence of a sitting government.
Spain’s July general election proved inconclusive, and political parties are in coalition-building talks.
They had already shot Amarena, perhaps several times, but with one substantial difference: it was small hunting pellets that hit the mother bear, symbol of Abruzzo, and not a 12 gauge bullet that killed her.
This is what emerged yesterday during the autopsy at the Zooprophylactic Institute of Teramo. The ball was first identified in the morning during x-rays at the university’s Veterinary Clinic and then extracted from Amarena’s carcass during the cadaveric examination in the afternoon, which ended almost at midnight.
The “warning” shots which essentially serve to scare and ward off the bear are a fairly common occurrence in park lands: the bear Stefano who was killed in Molise in 2013 already had the same wounds, i.e. a combination of warnings and a subsequent fatal shooting.
The autopsy discovery changes the narrative of the event, because now everything is in the hands of the ballistics expert Paride Minervini, whose report will be decisive in defining what happened. As judicial circles make clear, the reconstruction of the exact dynamics of the shot is crucial to define the responsibilities of the only suspect, Andrea Leombruni, for which it is essential to establish the timing, the choice of the weapon and the bullet, the distance, the trajectory and closing the house gate to block the bear.
The autopsy confirms, however, that it was a slow death, due to the blow which, having entered the lung from the side near the shoulder, irreparably compressed all the internal organs causing inevitable internal bleeding. A slow death to which Amarena would not have surrendered but against which she would have fought, trying several times to get up from the ground, in vain.
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Avevano già sparato ad Amarena, più volte forse, ma con una sostanziale differenza: a colpire la mamma orsa simbolo d’Abruzzo erano stati dei pallini piccoli da caccia, e non un proiettile calibro 12 che l’ha uccisa.
È quanto è emerso, ieri, durante l’autopsia all’Istituto Zooprofilattico di Teramo. La palla è stata prima individuata, in mattinata, durante le lastre alla Clinica Veterinaria dell’università e poi estratta dalla carcassa di Amarena durante la ricognizione cadaverica nel pomeriggio, terminata quasi a mezzanotte.
Gli spari di “avvertimento” che servono, in sostanza, per spaventare e allontanare l’orso, sono un fatto abbastanza comune nelle terre dei parchi: già l’orso Stefano che fu ucciso in Molise nel 2013 presentava le stesse ferite, ossia un connubio di avvertimenti e una successiva fucilata mortale.
La scoperta autoptica cambia la narrazione dell’evento, perché ora è tutto nelle mani del perito balistico Paride Minervini, la cui relazione sarà decisiva per definire l’accaduto. Come fanno capire gli ambienti giudiziari, la ricostruzione della esatta dinamica dello sparo è cruciale per definire le responsabilità dell’unico indagato, Andrea Leombruni, per cui risulta fondamentale stabilire la tempistica, la scelta dell’arma e del proiettile, la distanza, la traiettoria e la chiusura del cancello di casa per bloccare l’orsa.
L’autopsia conferma, comunque, che si sia trattato di una morte lenta, dovuta al colpo che, entrato nel polmone dal fianco vicino alla spalla, le ha compresso irrimediabilmente tutti gli organi interni provocando un’inevitabile emorragia interna. Morte lenta a cui Amarena non si sarebbe arresa ma contro cui avrebbe lottato, tentando più volte di alzarsi da terra, inutilmente.
WAV Comment – Bet he was wearing full combat gear when he murdered her; cos hunters have to dress up as real tough men you Know ? ! ? – we know that the killer was a hunter; and the ‘self defence’ issue has been kicked well into the grass; he killed because like all hunters, he just has a blood lust which goes against the norm – he enjoys killing. But we understand that fortunately, he is now getting a hard time.Lest really hope that the cubs are found by the search teams; and that one day they can go hunting for revenge.
A popular female bear has been shot dead on the outskirts of a town in central Italy and a man has claimed he opened fire out of fear.
The bear, named Amarena, was filmed earlier this week roaming around the town of San Sebastiano Dei Marsi with her two cubs.
Local governor Marco Marsilio said no bear in the Abruzzo region had ever threatened residents with any danger.
The governor said on social media that the killing was incomprehensible and was a “very grave act against the whole Abruzzo region which leaves pain and anger”.
The man who killed the animal was identified and questioned by local police.
“I shot out of fear, but I didn’t want to kill. I found her inside my property and it was an impulsive, instinctive act,” he was quoted as saying by Ansa news agency.
Park director Luciano Sammarone told Ansa that the bear had crossed a private fence, but people should reserve judgement until it was established what had happened. “However, I’m struggling to believe this was a matter of self-defence.”
“Amarena was a symbol of the park,” said Piero Genovesi, head of Italy’s wildlife service Ispra. “Everybody loved her. She was so frequently observed; she was never aggressive.”
Continue reading and watch the video of the innocent bear amongst town folk at:
I do not aim for this to be a politically biased site – in my view they are all liars and make false election promises which thereafter they often fail to keep.
For those of you who are non UK resident, we have here 2 main political parties – namely the Conservatives and Labour. The Conservatives (Tories) form the current government with a majority of MPs, and Labour is in opposition.
The Tories have been in power for 12 years,following the General Election in May 2010.
Many people now consider it is time for a change.
There will almost certainly be a General Election where citizens vote for a government in 2024.
Each party has an area associated with animal welfare – and here are the links:
After Brexit, we were promised legislation to ban the export of live animals for slaughter and further fattening. Despite personally being involved in a government consultation; at wich I personally presented over 50 A4 pages of evidence as to why live transport should be banned; the Tories have now pulled the plug and are not moving on with this – see last link for more.
CAWG says:
We have been disappointed by moves to drop the long-promised Consultation on animal welfare labelling, and the discontinuation of the Kept Animals Bill (which included an end to live exports for fattening and slaughter). While we remain supportive of the Government’s approach to deliver these measures through alternative legislative vehicles, we fear not all of these can become law before the next General Election.
Maybe not as disappointed as you will be at the next General Election !!
We now wait for Labour to move forward with the issue – animal welfare is a big vote winner – the problem is some political parties do not recognise this.
As I previously said, this site is not politically biased; I attempt to proide info and some links, as I have done here, and then individuals can further research as required.
Bavaria has declared war not only with the wolf, but now with fish otters as well.
From 1/8/23 a new regulation is in place that allows all year round hunting. The otter is a protected species under European law (?) and law suits are already being filed. But the sheer cheek of these people !
Elections are up and down there. One Markus Soder hopes to gain votes from the ‘right sort’ with these actions. Mountain farmers, fishers, hunters etc,
Much of Bavaria is rural, and so he can indeed hope to succeed.
For those of you who are not UK residents, England is by far the largest UK nation, but politically, often the slowest.
Despite this, it (England) often lets the other nations, especially Wales and Scotland, change laws before it does so itself – a kind of tester of public opinion before taking the plunge.
The issue of snares is typical; Wales bans, now the Scottish government starts a consultation on the issue; whilst England does nothing but sits back to see what happens before it takes any action on ban snares along with Wales.
I predict that in the end Scotland will also ban snares like the Welsh. Only after these ‘testers’ are done will the English government wake up and start doing anything; late as they often are.
Mark
The Scottish Government will launch a consultation over banning snares which capture wild animals.
Ministers want views on whether an outright ban should be put in place for the use of snares or if any exemptions should be considered.
It is also asking for opinions on extending the investigative powers of the Scottish SPCA. This would be a new measure which will give it more powers to tackle wildlife crime.
It is part of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill, which is currently at Stage 1 in the Scottish Parliament.
For those of you who are non UK residents, the United Kingdon comprises of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Each has its own Parliament.
Great news – on June 27th, members of the Senedd in Wales voted through a total ban on snares as part of the Agriculture (Wales) Bill.
The next step is to make sure that this historic achievement is replicated by English, Scottish and Northern Ireland governments.
Snares are often used in areas to ‘protect’ the millions of purpose bred gamebirds (until the start of the shooting season) which are then shot and killed for fun by hunters each year – the sick ‘sport’ as they call it. In the UK, lots of wildlife conservation organisations do not allow the use of snares on their land; which proves that despite the arguments put forward by the hunting fraternity, the use of snares is not necessary in modern conservation.
Snares are not selective as they often catch non targeted animals such as dogs, cats, and even our loved and protected badgers.
The ban on snares in Wales has been a difficult and long campaign; especially with pressure from pro-shooting lobbyists who wanted to allow the continued use of snares under a new name of ‘humane cable restraints’. There is nothing humane about snares, they are simple killers, and yes, animals are restrained until their deaths which can be long and cause great suffering.
The Minister for Rural Affairs in Wales, Lesley Griffiths, stood firm and rejected the allowance of ‘humane cable restraints’ by the hunters; citing animal welfare concerns and the indiscriminate nature of snares, which can cause long term suffering to many species.
The victory in Wales is a wonderful result for the movement and one which will save countless animals from appalling suffering. We thank the Welsh government (Senedd) for their decisive action to protect all animals from suffering. The next step is to make sure that this historic achievement in Wales is replicated in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Scottish government already has the issue under review, and there is an opportunity ton ban snares under the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill which is currently in its early stages.
It is now vital that pressure on snares is kept on MP’s and the government; and that they know that action to ban nars throughout the UK is taken. As a General Election is not far away now, there is never a better time to let the government know that in your opinion, THEY are failing animal in every sense.
World Animals Voice 