On the 29th of September, a new law will come into effect, giving dog owners the obligation to take out an insurance policy for their dog.

The law, which was published on the 28th of March in the Official State Gazette (BOE) is “intended to improve animal welfare and prevent dogs from being abandoned.”

This insurance (civil responsibility) already exists for dangerous breeds, but will now be extended to cover all breeds of dogs. The Government considers that having such an insurance will “protect the owners in the case of their dog biting somebody, causing an accident and damaging property.”

The Government also says that dog owners can increase the policy coverage to include, kennelling whilst recovering from injury and even as a death insurance for it.

Artículo 30.3 of the new law states: «Dog owners must take out and maintain a civil-responsibility policy for 3rd-party damages for such an amount as to cover possible related costs.”

In most of Spain this has been optional except for certain regional autonomies such as Madrid and the País Vasco.Those dog owners that are caught without one could face fines between 500 and 10,000 euros.

As for how much these insurance policies might cost, in the case of PPPs (Dangerous Breeds) it’s somewhere between 60 and 100 euros annually, covering between 150,000 euros and 185,000 euros, approximately. Obviously, it will depend on the breed, size and the animal’s age.

Editorial comment: unfortunately, this law is likely to cause a spate of dogs being abandoned because of the extra cost.

(News/Noticias: Spain)