The Valencian left has not wanted to wait for the national debate and has taken advantage of the last ordinary plenary session of the Valencian Parliament to approve an animal welfare law that protects hunting dogs more than the future state law that is being processed.
A circumstance that, according to the opposition, leads the Valencian regulations to a series of inconsistencies and incompatibilities that can put an end to the Valencian regulations in court. In fact, Vox – which yesterday made a strong defense of hunting – has already slipped that it will hand over its 52 national deputies “at the disposal of the Hunting Federation to study, prepare and present an appeal of unconstitutionality to guarantee the free exercise of hunters “.
All in all, the Botànic argues that the regulation that is processed in Madrid is a basic law and that the Valencian regulation has the capacity to develop it.
The truth is that the law that will be approved today in Les Corts Valencianes with the vote of PSPV, Compromís and Unides Podem (yesterday the parliamentary debate took place) is more protectionist with hunting dogs than the law that is being processed in the Cortes Generals and that has generated complaints from animal groups for leaving out of protection the dogs that are dedicated to hunting.
In fact, after the discussion in Congress, Podemos already showed its disappointment with the content of the law: “We have gone as far as we can with the forces we have. We will continue working tirelessly for the protection of all animals, including hunting dogs”, said the Minister of Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda, Ione Belarra.
In the Valencian case, the law is more protectionist, although it also fails to satisfy the premises that Compromís and Unides Podem have always defended: “Hunting dogs are also pets”, the purple deputy brandished yesterday in the corridors of Les Corts Beatriu Gascó; “same dogs, same law”, added Cristina Rodríguez (Compromís).
And it is that as this newspaper has been telling, the future regional law on Animal Welfare does include dogs that have specific tasks (police dogs, hunting dogs, guide dogs) what happens with one caveat: this happens for not considering mistreatment “injuries that seriously undermine the health of the animal” suffered by “companion animals that perform specific tasks or activities in the exercise of their specific functions.”
An amendment that in its day was promoted by the Socialists and supported by both the PP and Ciudadanos and that was interpreted as a nod to the hunting sector (with just over 30,000 licenses in the Valencian Community).
Although this amendment, which was rejected by the parties to the left of the PSPV, was well received by the hunters and it seemed that the regulations were heading towards a broad and transversal consensus, the state debate has ended up distorting the positions of some and others, even more so when The PSOE in Congress did support the claims of the hunters more clearly.
In this context, and given the difficulty of approving the rule that has many other issues outside of hunting, Compromís and Unides Podem ended up giving in and accepting the socialist arguments about injuries in dogs with specific functions in order to unblock the rule and approve it. before the end of the legislature.
