In the year 2022 there were 81,302 divorces in Spain, 6.4% less than in 2021 (separations fell by 12.6% and annulments by 31.6%). 45.5% of divorcees with children obtained joint custody. The General Council of the Judiciary does not yet provide figures on another type of shared custody: that of pets, but it will soon have to do so taking into account its exponential growth.
We already have "more pets per home than children," recalls María José Alamar, PhD in Law, collaborator of the Animal and Society Chair at the Rey Juan Carlos University. The author and expert in canine ethology Juan Luis de Castellví, also a collaborator of this university institution, adds: "They are sentient beings, not disposable toys." These considerations are very relevant in legal proceedings.
Law 17/2021 modified the legal regime of animals, until then considered cabinets. Simple things or objects, a conception far removed from social reality. According to article 333 bis of the Civil Code, "they are living beings with sensitivity" and the legal regime of goods and things will only be applied to them to the extent that it is compatible with their nature or with the provisions necessary for their protection.
How does that affect divorces? Years ago common sense was chosen (many times the least common of the senses, as Wilde said). Couples who had shared cats or dogs had to reach out-of-court agreements or private pacts before a notary. It was either that or war. Since the legal reform, however, judges have more arguments to decide who gets the pets and why.
At the beginning of the year, the Vizcaya Court issued a sentence (you can read it here) that indicates the path. The court declared joint custody of a child and a dog, Roberto and Quico. The little boy, the court argued, has special needs and the animal represents "important therapeutic benefits" for him. Every time one of the parents takes care of the child, he must also take care of the pet.
In Spain there are more than 28 million pets, especially dogs (more than nine million) and cats (almost six million). 40% of households have a pet, explains a report by CoPPA (Coordinator of Professionals for the Prevention of Abuses), a multidisciplinary group in the areas of psychology, psychiatry, sociology, law and criminology, among others, which defends vulnerable groups ).
Marta Vila, a collaborator of this platform, assures that "more and more legal conflicts are being raised over the custody of companion animals." And more and more sentences recognize "the suffering due to the forced separation of a companion animal". This is the argument, explains this expert, so that some courts "grant the right to visit the animal to the party that does not have its property." And not only that…
There have been cases in which full custody has been granted "to the non-owner, considering that they had become more involved as a caretaker or that they could provide a better way of life for the pet." The usual thing, however, is to rule that whoever stays with the children also stays with the pets. Noelia López, from the Efe agency, has published this Monday an extraordinary report that includes this thesis.
And if we are talking about sentient beings and the human-animal bond is so strong, what could be the next step? There are already voices demanding paid leave due to illness or death of pets. If one day that were a reality, as has been proposed in a Change.org campaign, Spain would go from considering pets as objects to granting paid permits to take them to the vet or bury them.
That reality may be a long way off, but divorces already include increased care for these other family members, with visits and child support. Some pets spend alternate seasons with their humans. Or, as the Vizcaya Court agreed in January, they stay "in the family home in the company of the children, their care corresponding to the parent who has custody of the minors."
