Under the law applying in most of Spain's autonomous communities, stray and abandoned dogs and cats in ‘perreras’ (animal shelters) may be destroyed only a few days after they have arrived in the shelters.
The Spanish Government views euthanasia of healthy animals that could instead be adopted as a means of solving the problem of stray animals and overcrowding in animal shelters - a view that is at odds with Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, under which animals must be regarded as ‘sentient beings’ and treated as such. While in the shelters, the animals are deprived of care and often also of food and water, and the methods used to kill them are inhumane.
With reference to Parliament's resolutions of 4 July 2012 on the establishment of an EU legal framework for the protection of pets and stray animals (2012/2670(RSP)) and 26 November 2015 on a new animal welfare strategy for 2016-2020 (2015/2957(RSP)), can the Commission say whether:
— it intends to put an end to this slaughter;
— it can put forward a legislative framework that will afford animals, in particular dogs and cats, minimum standards of protection throughout the EU and expressly ban the practice of euthanasia;
— the EU intends to take practical steps to protect the lives of dogs, and of pets in general, throughout the Union?
A: Mr Andriukaitis on behalf of the Commission (2016-08-03)
The matter referred to by the Honourable Members is not governed by EU animal welfare rules, but falls under the sole competence of the Member States.
Legislating on this matter would not be in line with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality as laid down in Article 5 of the Treaty on the European Union.
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