Until now in Barcelona, carrying a dog without a leash on public roads was only fined if it occurred in spaces with an express prohibition. Starting December 18, this practice will be sanctioned outside the 225 areas where it is allowed. Complaints range between 100 and 300 euros, depending on the danger generated.
It seems like a play on words but it is not. The creation of 109 shared use areas (ZUC) for dogs with pedestrians, which is about to be completed, facilitates this change. They can be consulted here. 40 have already been marked and the remaining ones will be added in the coming days. Until February, teams of informants explain the rule in these places.
These spaces, the ZUC, were provided for in the ordinance for the protection, possession and sale of animals approved in 2014. They are not closed areas, in streets, squares or parks, but marked where dogs can be loose at certain times. , which vary depending on the case.
In addition to the new ZUC, these animals can be loose in 70 dog areas (AG, in Catalan) and in another 46 recreational areas (AEG); in total, 116. They are fenced enclosures with physical enclosures in which the dogs are free; yes, always watched by their bearers.
Initially, the ZUC were not enabled because they were linked to the creation of a specific bearer responsibility card, which was ultimately not implemented. This requirement was removed from the articles because it was considered an unnecessary bureaucratic obstacle and a year ago the municipal government, through a decree, detailed all the areas where loose dogs would be accepted, those that already existed and those that were planned to open.
The 2014 rule already made it clear, however, that, except in these places, dogs must be on a leash. But this condition was not applied in its entirety because the ZUC did not yet exist and it was considered that the city still did not have enough spaces for canine recreation. Potentially dangerous ones, which are governed by another regulation, always have to be on a leash and muzzle, even in these areas.
"We seek animal welfare and the logic of coexistence," highlighted this Thursday Laia Bonet, first deputy mayor, who assessed that finally, almost ten years later, the 2014 ordinance can be fully deployed. With the creation of the ZUC, spread throughout all the neighborhoods, "95% of people with dogs at home will have a free space less than ten minutes from their homes," added the mayor.
Of the 180,000 dogs that the City Council estimates there are in Barcelona, more than 85,000 are registered. This large amount, which is increasing, forces the City Council to dedicate increasing efforts to avoid conflicts and also to ensure the cleanliness of public space. Bonet has assured that this need is taken into account, now also through Pla Endreça. In 2022, 340 penalties were imposed for not carrying dogs correctly on public roads and 250 in the first quarter of 2023.
