The Social Rights Commission of the Congress of Deputies approved on Thursday 22 the report of the presentation on the Animal Welfare Bill with the incorporation of the controversial amendment presented by the Socialist Group (PSOE) by which it is excluded from this future regulations for hunting dogs.
The representatives of Unidas Podemos (UP) in this commission rejected the socialist amendment on hunting dogs but voted in favor of the report of the presentation as a whole, as did the deputies of the PSOE, ERC and Bildu; while those of the Popular Group (PP), Vox, Junts per Catalunya, and those of Ciudadanos abstained.
The PSOE amendment that excludes hunting dogs had the votes in favor of the PP, PNV, Vox and the Canary Islands Coalition.
The approval of this report in committee will allow the processing of the bill to continue.
According to the approved report, the text of the future law will exclude hunting dogs, rehalas (teams or groups of dogs used for game hunting) and auxiliary hunting animals from the protection requirements. The bill will include, however, an addition stating that these animals, "all of them, are regulated and will be protected by the corresponding current European, state and regional regulations and that apply to them outside of this law ".
The amendment of hunting dogs to exclude them from the bill has confronted PSOE and Unidas Podemos since almost the beginning of the processing of this regulation, which was approved in the summer by the Council of Ministers, under the impulse of the Ministry of Social Rights that directs Ione Belarra, from United We Can.
In addition to the Commission's approval of the report on the presentation on the animal welfare project with the amendment that excludes hunting dogs, the report on the presentation on the draft law to reform the Penal Code on animal abuse.
After successive cancellations in recent days of the calls for this Social Rights Commission in Congress, to try to solve the obstacle of hunting dogs, the initiative has finally gone ahead with the exclusion of hunting dogs, and will continue its course in plenary from January.
After the vote, the secretary of the Organization of Podemos and Secretary of State for the 2030 Agenda, Lilith Verstrynge, reproached the Socialist Group for having relied on the Popular Party and even on Vox, to carry out the animal welfare bill. with the exclusion of hunting dogs.
"We believe that the PSOE has one last opportunity, before the full arrival, to rectify, to withdraw this position, which, we insist, is dangerous and puts animals at risk," Verstrynge said in statements collected by Efe.
"We fully trust that, when the time comes, the socialist party will position itself on the side of the welfare of all dogs and all animals," added the organization secretary of Podemos.
"There are still transaction options in plenary session," and the bill "we are not going to drop it, because it is the total and absolute responsibility of the socialist group to have taken out the hunting dogs."
Various animal protection groups have reiterated in recent hours their opposition to the Socialist Group's amendment excluding hunting dogs from the future Animal Welfare law. The Animalist Party (Pacma) in particular has ensured that if this amendment is finally approved, it will file an appeal before the Constitutional Court.
