A dispute between neighbors has put on the table the debate of which animals can be kept at home and which cannot, as pets. It turns out that a neighbor had chickens in his apartment and he found that sign in the elevator.
The anonymous sign reminds you that it is prohibited to have animals that are not domestic, and invites you to remove the chickens from the property.
Given this situation, we have consulted Núria Murlà, vice president of the Commission for the Protection of Animal Rights of the Bar Association of Catalonia (ICAB).
Farm animals, for example, would be included in the category of domestic animals. However, in this basic theory there are a series of clarifications and exceptions.
You can have as company any animal that has lost its productive purpose and that we have registered and identified (microchip, ring, etc.), as if it were a dog or a cat. “According to the law, then, we could not sell the eggs laid by the hen or hens that we had in an apartment,” he adds. “Strictly speaking, you couldn’t eat them either, but there won’t be anyone in your house watching over you.”
The number of chickens (or pets) that can be kept at home is not specified. However, the lawyer clarifies that each municipal ordinance should specify it, but not all have it. Normally it would be between three and five.
That said, returning to the mess of the chickens and the neighbor on the tenth floor, we must also keep in mind that, although it is legally allowed to have chickens at home, it will be the person who takes care of it who must be responsible for the inconvenience or grievances that the animal may cause to the neighbors. Just like a dog, or just like yourself.
It is something unusual and strange. People don’t have goats at home, but just in case, Núria Murlà clarifies this curious case. “There are thirty subspecies of goats, among which there are domestic varieties and also wild ones. Therefore, according to the law, we can only have domestic or farm goats, to which the same regulations would apply as for chickens, geese or the ducks,” he specifies. “We couldn’t have mountain goats at home, for example.”
There is an official list of wild or wild animals that are allowed as pets, although it is still in the approval process by the Spanish government. “Until it is approved, the law tells us that we cannot have any wild animal that, as an adult, weighs more than five kilos. That is why we could have a domestic goat but not a mountain goat.”
The list includes wild mammals that are neither dangerous nor venomous, and that are scientifically proven to be able to adapt to living in captivity. Neither invasive species, such as Vietnamese pigs, nor protected species (tigers, lions, etc.) are included. As we have mentioned, mammals weighing more than five kilos are not allowed, nor are primates of any kind, which have special protection due to genetic proximity.
And as far as reptiles are concerned, they cannot exceed two kilos in weight in the adult state, except for chelonians (turtles).
This article was originally published on RAC1.
