Further to a couple of articles I published last week about cock fighting and hunting dogs on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, here are the rules for the keeping of dogs and cats there as recently decreed. It’s that man again…probably lives in a cave and seems to be blind!
“Two issues listed in an annexe and in a single additional disposition of the new ordinance of animals of Santa Cruz, Tenerife, pending publication in the official bulletins after it was adopted in plenary on the last month of January 2017, would make it almost impossible to possess and transport hunting dogs in the conditions that the majority of practitioners of this modality now do, assures the President of the Society of hunters Chicharreros, Antonio Porras, who recently addressed this theme to the elected representatives of Citizen Security and Environment, Zaida Gonzalez and Carlos Correa, respectively.
In the additional provision, referring to the dimensions of the dwellings in which the dogs are kept, the municipal legislation sets out in its Annexe I for each adult dog “there will need to be a complex of at least 2 metres long and 1 metre wide and 1.5 m in height, designed in such a way that the animal can access areas of shade or sun with freedom and with ventilation according to their physiology. It shall be constructed of suitable materials that isolate enough of the weather, smooth surfaces and easily washable. The ground must be paved with non-slip material and will have the tilt enough to prevent flooding”.
“It would be impossible to keep the dogs in most areas of Santa Cruz”, says Porras, who insists that the hunting dogs we have are kept in the best possible conditions”. “To do this it would be necessary to have a kennel each”.Santa Cruz is one of the municipalities of the island with most licensed hunters”.
The Single Additional Disposition has to do with the transport of pet animals. “If the number of pet animals carried by a person or his representative is greater than five, they shall be deemed to be commercial and import regulations will apply to them. Also, they must accredit a domicile or residence during their stay and ensure the conditions of tenure laid down in the present Ordinance”,which sets the standard, and refers it to the people that “travel to Santa Cruz”. This aspect is subject to the Rules of Procedure of the European Union (EU).
In this regard, Antonio Porras recalls that dogs and ferrets are exempt from regional standards passed in the year 2009, which regulates the procedure for the authorisation of transporters, means of transport and containers of live animals.
The last legal aspect adopted in this regard data of last year is the Royal Decree 542/216 of 25 November 2016, on standards of health and animal protection during transport. In its Article 2.2.C clarifies that it shall not apply “to the transport of pets, as defined in article 3.3 of Law 8/2003, of 24 April, when the transport is not carried out in connection with an economic activity”.
With regard to possession of dogs and cats, the municipal ordinance provides that “their total number may not exceed five animals without the corresponding authorization and paper control”. For dogs “they have to facilitate the daily exit outside at least twice a day, with the exception of puppies that have not yet been properly immunized”. “That would be physically impossible to make, because anyone who works could not leave his post to do so”, indicates Porras, who stresses that “the hunting dog, because of its physical characteristics and mobility, can only go for a walk in the fields of training or to the hunting lands and always respecting the time of Veda”.
The Ordinance also provides that “pet animals may only be kept tied in a fixed place for justified reasons and provided that they are in suitable conditions of ventilation and shelter. In any case, they are not be tied to a fixed place for more than two hours. In the case of puppies, this time should not be exceeded”. “Hunting dogs remain tied to avoid fights and deaths among them, in addition to possible escapes to the public way”, judgment batons.
The president of the Federation of Associations of Hunting Management of Tenerife has already agreed to the convening of two demonstrations, date not yet decided, to defend the rights of the hunters.