BYELAW ABOUT OWNERSHIP & PROTECTION OF ANIMALS APPROVED

On Tuesday the 25th June 2008 the Pleno (Town Council meeting) of Orihuela was presented with the proposed Ordenanza Municipal sobre Tenencia y Proteccion de Animals, the Byelaw relating to the ownership and protection of animals.

This is a wide ranging Byelaw that includes the responsibilities of owners of dogs in such items as; the ownership & control of dangerous dogs; the control of all dogs in public areas to ensure the safety and health of the public, including the legal requirement to clean up any faeces of their dog in public areas; exclusion of dogs from designated public recreation areas including beaches; protection of animals against cruelty, including leaving dogs in parked and unattended cars. It includes regulations in the treatment of abandoned and lost animals.

The Ordenanza was approved with a unanimous vote in agreement from all Councillors.

Los Verdes are delighted, as this is the culmination of the work that they have carried out since the 15th November 2007 when the party raised the matter of the lack of any legislation within the Orihuela Municipality in respect of this matter. Seven months of continually putting pressure on the ruling PP Council, by repeatedly raising this subject in the Pleno and with the Councillors responsible for drafting the Ordenanza, has seen fruition.

The approval of the Byelaw by the Pleno is the first part of the final procedure for the legislation to become effective. The next stage is that the text of the Ordenanza in its entirety has to be published in the Buletin Oficial de la Provincia of the Alicante Province. A period of 15 days is required for any final amendments to be considered before the legislation can become effective.

Following the proposal put forward by Los Verdes, the Pleno agreed that a full programme of Public information and awareness about the new Byelaw will be carried out. This will include the provision by the Council of a leaflet, to be freely available, in various languages, including Spanish, English, and German, to clarify the contents, effect, and penalties for non-compliance of the new Ordenanza. A programme of training is to be given to the Policia Local to ensure that members are aware of the details of the law.