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This text is part of the edition For More Effective Laws for Animals, IWNS, 2003, with the financial support of the European Commission to Bulgaria. -----
International Conference on Animal Protection in Spain
“Fairer and more effective laws for animals”
Barcelona – November 7, 8, 9 - 2002 Why Spain, why Barcelona, why a conference, why international, why... let us go back a little bit in the past.
Spanish culture and traditions have kept many ritual practices in dismembering or killing an animal. Most traditional Spanish holidays have as a part of its ritual sacrificing an animal in some ways, just to mention: throwing a goat from the top of a church, firing the horns of a bull. The famous bullfighting inflames people’s passions mostly when it ends with a death. Greyhounds are hanged when they become useless. These practices sound archaic but they are still reality in Spain.
Barcelona, in its turn, is known as the City of the prominent architecture Gaudy, whose work gave influence on art nouveau tendencies in the architecture of 20th century. There can be seen more than 100 buildings in this specific style, using animals and vegetable ornaments in the constructions. If we trust the animal protection theorists, that attitude towards life represents is the closest sense combining the east and west in the human value system and the compassionate sharing of mutual space between people and nature.
Gaudy, himself, was born in Tarragona, a small town near Barcelona that gave the reason for the conference as well as many other events before it. On a night of 1-2 November 2001 one or several people broke into Tarragona's Animal Protection Refuge. There were more than 200 dogs there, most of them Greyhounds, at that time. As we have already mentioned many Greyhounds are rescued as they are often abandoned once their racing careers are over. They chose 15 dogs amongst the most sociable ones and took them outside. They tied the animals to a tree, covered them with blankets to muffle their screams and brutally mutilated their front paws, either by a chain-saw or machete. In the morning the volunteers, working in the refuge, found nine of the fifteen dogs still alive. That cruelty insighted all the Spanish animal welfare organizations to start campaigns for changing the laws. The huge demonstrations in Madrid, Barcelona and other cities were part of these campaigns. All the animal welfare associations plead stricter laws against cruelty to animals. Spain is separated into several autonomous regions with internal legislation, considering cruelty to animals as punitive. But in Spain you may only get a fine to pay, and that is not in all the regions. Cruelty to animals is a part of the Criminal Code of Spain, as well as it is treated in autonomous regional administrative regulations sometimes in details.
The amendment of the national legislation in order to get more tough laws against animal cruelty may be considered only if 500,000 signatures from Spanish citizens are collected. Altarriba Foundation succeeded to collect 600.000 signatures by February 2002 and deposed them in Parliament. Although the lobbyists won the debate in the Parliament in April, the aims were not achieved.
Altarriba Foundation in cooperation with Trifolium Foundation organized the International Conference on Animal Protection through legislation, which was held at the University of Barcelona. The Conference was also supported by the Municipality of Barcelona, the Department of Catalunya, the Municipal Council of co-living, defence and protection of animals, the League of Barcelona Lawyers, the Official League of Barcelona Veterinarians and the University of Barcelona. The International Conference was preceded by eight national conferences, a round table and a mourning procession to Tarragona, where the 15 dogs were buried a year ago. The top of the events was the International Conference itself, where representatives of Bulgaria, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA contributed to the aims with their professional reports.
The idea of the Conference were first of all to exchange experience on the good and bad legislative practices, also to present theses and different views on animal protection, to discuss some of the main principles of humanity laying down the grounds of the animal protection human values.
The aim of the Conference was to attract international support in order to achieve the amendment of the Criminal Code of Spain where the sanctions would be stricter. Manifesto of the Conference - Modification of the Criminal Code, torture and cruelty against animals shall be considered a crime.
- Modernization of state and autonomous laws to more effective, punitive and protective in case of recidive, including mechanisms for serious citizen participation in policy decision making process.
- Elaboration of Municipal ordinances, contributing to the improvement of co-living between people and animals in the city, favoring the civilizing process of the first and protection of the latter.
The Conference was held in two different halls – the Aula of the University of Barcelona and the Conference Hall. The reports were thematically organized, on general humanitarian topics at the Aula and on law at the Conference Hall.
Representatives of the political and culture elite of Spain in the Aula of the University of Barcelona, whose speeches supported the ideas and aims of the Conference opened it on 7th November 2002. A part of the official inauguration was a small but very informative exhibition of posters, retelling the historical relationship between human being and the animal. The evening ended with a special visit of all speakers to the Department of Catalunya and acquaintances with the officials. The whole day of 8th November all the 28 participants delivered their reports. On 9th November a round table was carried out with the audience questioning the participants. Further importance to event was added by the participation of the International Court of Justice for Animal Rights.
Spanish, Catalonian and English were the official spoken languages at the Conference. ². AGENDA OF THE CONFERENCE AND PARTICIPANTS
Conference hall Aula
1. Animal Protection in Human System of Values: Solidarity.
Paulino Rodriguez Pita
Lawyer
Barcelona
2.Animal Abuse in Childhood. Mass Killers and Animal Abuse.
Nuria Querol
Biologist
Altarriba Foundation – Barcelona
3. The Law as a Propaganda Kepa Tamames
Official speaker
ÀÒÅÀ - Victoria 4. Animal Abuse as a Part of Domestic Violence
Dr. Frank R. Ascione
Dr of Psychology
Utah State University - USA
5. Act 4/94 of the Municipality of Valenica on Protection of Pets. Application Problems. Amendments.
Jorge Deltell
Lawyer
Titular Juridical Dep. - Valencia 6. Introduction to CARE Program: Help for Abused Women Nuria Querol
Biologist
Altarriba Foundation – Barcelona
7. Animal Protection in the Conventions of the Council of Europe Alexander Khubulava
Lawyer– specialist in international relationships,
Committee for animal protection, Tbilisi, Georgia 8. A Paradox: When Do We Treat Animals as People. A Research on the Use of Animals in Military Actions. Dr. Jose Miguel Gaona
Psychiatrist
Madrid
9. Ethical and Legislative Aspects on the Effective Animal Protection
Dr. Christian Sailer
Lawyer
Univeselles Leben – Marktheidenfeld, Germany 10. The Real Animal Abuse Dimension Kepa Tamames
Official speaker
ÀÒÅÀ - Victoria
11. Animal Welfare in Bulgarian Legislation Khristina Slavova
Sociologist
IWNS – Sofia, Bulgaria 12. History, Achievements and Methods of the Committee against Bullfights.
Ben Buskes
Director
Committee against Bullfights,the Netherlands
13. Cruelty to Animals as a Part of
the Criminal Code Dr. Helena Striwing
Lawyer
The Animal Protection Resource Fallun – Sweden 14. Social Use and Abuse of the Veterinarian Medicine Ricardo Coedo
Veterinarian
Barcelona
15. Methods for Control over Medical Experiments on Animals. Current Applicable Legislation Dr. Joana Visa
Veterinarian
SECAL - Barcelona 16. Why is not Humane to Make Animals Suffer? Why such a Suffering is Harmful to Mankind? Lazaro Covadlo
Writer
Barcelona
17. Regulation of the Use of Animals in Laboratories in Great Britain.
Dr. Krys Bottrill
Immunologist
Scientific director of FRAME – Nottingham, Great Britain 18. Grounds on Animals’ Rights from the point of view of Moral Philosophy. Oscar Horta
Philosopher
Vigo - Pontevedra
19. Introduction to applied Bioethics to Animal Experimentation in Life Sciences. Dr. Marta Ines Salona
Professor in Zoology
University of Pays Vasco - Bilbao 20. General Observations of the Normative Regulations on Dogs, Potentially Abandonable by their Owners.
Ignasi Rodriguez Ferran
Veterinarian
Department of Catalunya - Barcelona
21. Animal Welfare as a Part of their Protection. Juridical Mechanisms for the Safeguarding Animal Welfare.
Jose Maria Perez Monguio
Lawyer. Professor in Administrative law. University of Cadiz – Cadiz 22. About a Consistent Bioethics Oriol Ribas
Biologist
Association of the Catalonian professionals in dogs behavior. - Barcelona
23. The Consequences from
Animal Ownership Status
Oscar Horta
Philosopher
Vigo - Pontevedra 24. Person-pet: ways of improving the relationship
Vicente Cuairan Felix
ANTA
Madrid
25. Ordinances for Animals in Madrid
Alejandro Leon Lacal
Lawyer
Green Party - Madrid 26. Decisions We Have Not Taken
Ken Sewell
Association of the Catalonian professionals in dogs behavior. - Barcelona
27.The Municipal Ordinances of Barcelona Dr. Meritxell Josa
Lawyer. Vice Director of Juridical Services
Municipality of Barcelona 28. Dogs for Rehoming
Jose Manuel Martinez Redondo
President of the National Association for Help and Rescue of Dogs – Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona 29. Judith Weber, Franz Weber Foundation, Switzerland – International Court of Justice for Animal Rights. ²². REPORTS IN THE FIELD OF LIFE, SOCIAL AND HUMANITARIAN SCIENCES 1. Nuria Querol
Biologist
Altarriba Foundation – Barcelona.
Report Summary:
Animal Abuse in Childhood. Mass Killers and Animal Abuse.
This report represents research works and publications of the American Medical Association, National Resource Centre of USA, Latham Foundation on Humane Education, many psychologists and psychiatrists, studying the relation between violation against people and violation against animals. The files of six notorious American mass killers support this research. Their biographies tell us that they systematically abused animals in their childhood. According to the research children develop their self-estimation, empathy and self-consciousness by having a contact with an animal. Taking care of animals has an essential effect on developing personality and taking responsibility. Children in problematic families are often aggressive to pets having as an example aggression in their families. Some children identify themselves with the aggressor and develop such behaviour over the years. Later they consider treatment of people this way acceptable. A research of New Jersey Public Child Protection Agency reviewed that 88% of the families in which an animal is abused, a child is abused, too. The comparative research of Vinas’s report observes gradation according to the type of the crime or mental deviation. The percentage for a quantity of all the cases who have been violent against animals since childhood is the following: exhibitionists 30%, sexual mania 36%, accused for sexual harassment 46%, accused sexual abusers 48%, murderers 58% (1993). It was mentioned in the report that FBI used that correlation to make profiles of serial and mass killers. Some of the most notorious ones like Jeffrey Dahmer, Alberto DeSalvo, David Berkovitz or the “Vampire of Dusseldorf” started with their fantasies on torturing and cruelty to non-human animals. An FBI research on 36 accused mass killers in 1970 revealed that 44% of them admit having tortured animals in their youth. Teaching responsible and humane treatment of animals from early age, according to Vinas, help people to socialize and reduces the risk of deviations from the acceptable norms.
2.Paulino Rodriguez Pita
Lawyer
Barcelona
Report summary:
Animal Protection in Human System of Values: Solidarity. Pita’s thesis problematizes the term Solidarity as an idea of co-living. The innovative in his claim is that co-living, as human should be spread on non-human animals we share the common living space with. According to Pita, the idea theoretically contradicts to the whole construction of human social life and requires strong popularization mostly by work with children. Another point that hinders the realization of the expanded notion of solidarity is the law. Pita pays special attention to the treatment of animals as things in the Spanish legislation. The very human laws legitimate the human notion of order in which an animal is a thing to use. Pita, from the position of a lawyer, supports the initiative for changing the status of animals in legislation and considering them as subjects of law.
3. Dr. Marta Ines Salona
Professor in Zoology
University of Pays Vasco – Bilbao
Report summary:
Introduction to applied Bioethics to animal experimentation in Life Sciences.
Dr. Marta Salona’s speech was one of the most discussed at the Conference. She questioned the whole work of animal protectionists, claiming that their grounds or reasons are correct but often not analytically based and more often meaningless. Her provocation was not opposed to the idea of animal protection in general, but mainly to the development its concepts and realization. Dr. Salona uses a historical approach in her argumentation that it is the essence of the nature a man to dominate over nature and animals. Salona does not argue whether it is right or wrong for people to dominate, she accepts it as a fact. Human beings have used non-human animals right from the start. As animals, we make use of the environment and of other organisms to our own benefit; this is inherent to our organic condition. In the same way, other organisms look for benefit in their relationships, sometimes causing prejudice…. This is only natural. But humans have been able to go further and claim the power to control their environment and co-habitants without any correspondence. Something similar is found in antibiotic organisms. Human beings are presently acting as the main antibiotic of the biosphere and these acts are evolving against ourselves, pollution, radiation, ozone layer depletion, “mad cows”, deforestration, with consequent lost of fertile soil and desert advancing dangerously… How far are we going to go in this uncontrolled run into destruction? The absence of a global strategy and moral re-estimation into the “moral community” itself is the major problem for Marta Salona. Dr. Salona asks what happens to the moral attitude which members (groups or species) should be accepted in our moral community, what kind of legal framework we can develop. Salona takes as a prominent example animal experimentation which by definition are considered the cruelest institutionalized exploitation of animals. Marta Salona is highly critical on that point, because she believes that there is no sense of attacking people who work in these laboratories, as the community creates them and their laws itself. She claims that the problem goes further. The problem is not even in the 3-R-s but in the lack of responsibility in people for what they do and what happens. People just forget their human condition. We have reached the point we could even change organisms – products of GMO, bio piracy, the traffic of species or simply biological pollution. Let us have a look at what is happening, says M. Salona, we introduced the genes of a polar salmon into a strawberry and make it flower under freezing conditions. A main argument used to force us to accept GMOs in our environment are mainly civilized and humane – to help to underdeveloped countries to solve their nutritional problems. Besides it is not very clear at what point of their development the countries from the Third World will start producing these products by themselves and how much they will cost them. Salona says that most important is the meaningless in peoples’ actions to be eliminated by common sense. The mutual people’s efforts have to be focused on giving a meaning to the whole human behaviour, because the future we are going to is devastating. 4. Dr. Joana Visa
Veterinarian
SECAL – Barcelona
Report summary:
Methods for Control over Medical Experiments on Animals. Current Applicable Legislation Dr. Joana Visa used graphics to visualize the general picture of laboratories and animal experimentation all over Europe. She did that on behalf of SECAL – a Spanish association of the organizations of laboratory experiments with animals, a member of FELASA. . The presentation of Dr. Visa was consecutive starting from the principles the laboratories work. And the principles are avoiding causing pain to animals and popularizing of ethics for humane treatment of animals. Experiments with animals, according to Dr. Visa help people to find various cures e.g. for AIDS. According to Visa laboratory doctors perfectly realize how close to people animals are. That is why one of the main tasks of FELASA is to improve the conditions for using animals in laboratories by adopting internal ordinances on methods for using animals.
Basic rule is avoiding vivisection in labs. Achieving environment close to the natural one for animals is another attempt to improve the living conditions for them in the labs. The application of alternative methods is a priority, for example computer models of animals or animal models made of plastic. Dr. Visa represented interesting data about species used for experiments in Europe in 2002. The percentage is as follows: rodents – 72% mice, 22% rats, 2% hamsters. Non-rodents – 8% farm animals /mainly sheep/, 19% fish, 36% rabbits. Dogs, cats and primates are below 1%.
Experiments aim at achieving different goals, arranged in a descending succession.
• Dairy products quality control
• Pharmacy
• Human health
• Scientific researches – Biomedicine
• Toxicology
• Training (below 1%) The European Council and the Economy European Community Directive of 1986 has regulated legally the experiments in the EU. The Convention of animal protection during experiments dates from 1985. Detailed graphics on experiments in Europe over the years showed that 1970 was the rush year of using animals in experiments and there was a tendency to reduce animal experimentation in laboratories and insight ethical aspects was carried out in 1980. Internal ordinances on animal protection during experiments were adopted in Catalonian region between 1995-1997. They observe the general regulations for all experimental laboratories. Each laboratory has as a basic obligation to have a written approved memorandum with the following content: the reason for the experiment, kind of animals used for the experiment, particular number, number of the staff and qualifications, experiment control, euthanasia control, etc.
²²². LAW REPORTS 1. Jose Maria Perez Monguio
Lawyer, Professor in Administrative law.
University of Cadiz – Cadiz
Report summary:
Animal Welfare as a Part of their Protection. Juridical Mechanisms for the Safeguarding Animal Welfare
Jose Maria Perez Monguio’s report is more philosophically polemical. Monguio does not speak about concrete animal welfare law mechanisms. He questions the very idea of such mechanisms. In the introductory chapter of his report – about juridical animal protection mechanisms his question is what exactly welfare and protection is. There are sincere questions in his work: Is the animal welfare animal protection or in fact human protection. Does not ‘protection’ mean only ensuring conditions close to the ethnology of animals? Are the positivists right when they say ‘Never say animals have rights and duties’?
Monguio highlights the meaning of the Amsterdam Treaty from the point of view of the changing animal status to ‘a sentient being’. The achievement of the Treaty is the codification of the common sense after the World War II. A time when, according to Monguio, one becomes aware of the need to respect animals and satisfy their necessities, to look for a balance between their actions, meaning and nature. Monguio studies the hypothetical situation in which the animal is perceived as a subject of law. Only three problems appear in this supposition according to him. First, an animal cannot present itself actively in court. But there are many people who lack this chance! Second, animals cannot claim their legitimate interest. An analogous to this situation can be seen among people with disabilities who have mentors. Owners play that part in the case with animals. And last, animals cannot take rights and duties. The Western culture knows that law subjects can be only persons. But what we know for sure is that animals have experience. Can we easily and frivolously deny their right to live?! 2. Dr. Helena Striwing
Lawyer
The Animal Protection Resource Fallun – Sweden Report Summary:
Cruelty to animals as a part of the Criminal Code
Dr. Helena Striwing report is an interesting story about her juridical practice in Sweden during the last two years. Violence against animals has been part of the Criminal Code of Sweden since 1857, amended and annexed several times. Helena Striwing is a private practitioner lawyer, but in her spare time she voluntarily offers juridical assistance in cases of violence against animals, she teaches the state administration the animal welfare laws. She also delivers lectures in front of veterinarians for minimum juridical training. Two years ago a young policeman who faced a case of violence against animals sought for her help. The policeman visited a local cow farm and found serious violations including dead animals because of carelessness on the part of the owners. Helena Striwing assisted the farm owners to be sentenced to two-year imprisonment. The Criminal Code of Sweden involves a fine or 6 months to 4 years prison depending on the crime. Imprisonment is in case if recidivism aiming at its interception. It is made to educate the whole society and citizens and to prove that law is always applied to the offenders. After the solved case the young policeman went to a higher institution and was appointed a two-year investigation of cases with violence against animals. During those two years the policeman and Striwing went around Sweden, trained policemen in many cities and towns and investigated hundreds of cases upon citizens’ signals. Dr. Striwing presented each step of the police investigation on the case in details. Within her presentation the audience could see how photos were taken from a helicopter, also the breaking into the farm and photographs of badly kept farm animals. The morals from the two-year work led her to two conclusions: The Criminal Code obligatorily had to include a punishment for violence against animals. Carelessness, not only wilful violence, should be considered a crime. The Criminal Code obligatorily had to set severe sanctions, not only fees, as well as the punishment should be considered ‘society acceptable’. According to lawyer Striwing that notion will strengthen the social responsibility.
3. Alejandro Leon Lacal,
Lawyer, Green party – Madrid
Report summary
Ordinances for Animals in Madrid
Alejandro Lacal presented the basic points in the Madrid Municipality animal legislation. According to him the internal regulations of the municipality were minimized which did not lead to good results. There are the following stages:
1. Prohibition of using animals for commercial entertainment except for the bullfights.
2. There are no sanctions for owners who abandon their animals.
3. There is a law against dangerous dogs but not an animal welfare law.
Broadcasting of killings and abusing animals were prohibited on TV. The Microchip is the most important tool for the control on animals in the city. Spain is part of the general European system for Microchiping animals. According to Lacal the problem is that some autonomous areas in Spain have not still joined the system. This allows unscrupulous citizens abandon their animals in exactly those areas when the animal does not have a chip implanted yet. Lacal says that almost 80% of the animals in Madrid have implanted chips. Stray cats, which live in colonies in Madrid, are also a problem for the city. The measures against it are rehoming within 7 days or euthanasia. The policy about stray animals is funded separately by the taxes for the pets. There is an Animal Welfare Council in the Madrid Municipality. Representatives of NGOs participate in it. They seek for reduction of euthanasia on stray animals. Dr. Meritxell Josa
Lawyer. Vice Director of Juridical Services
Municipality of Barcelona
Report summary
The Municipal Ordinances of Barcelona Meritxell Josa, as a representative of the Municipality of Barcelona, introduced the new Barcelona Municipality programs and projects on animals for 2003 to the audience. The Municipality works in cooperation with all the animal welfare organizations in Barcelona. There is a Committee on animal welfare in the Municipality. All the organizations are members of it. The local authorities rely on their support and competence. In coordination with the Committee the jurist of the municipality claimed that the question for registration of pets in 2003 will be discussed – will they have a chip implanted or they will have tattoos to be registered. In parallel with this the Municipality prohibits dogs bred at private homes and it will set a decree for registering and licensing of specialized dog breeding houses to limit the number of abandoned dogs. A decree on animal protection in trade is due. The jurist announced that placing of cages with animals in the shop windows of Pet Markets was already prohibited in Barcelona. The animals in those shops should be at appropriate places imposed on minimum stress. The Municipality intends to pass stimulating measures for dealers who offer abandoned animals from the Municipal shelters at low prices to citizens. There is a separate decree specially on leading dangerous dogs with a lacet and a muzzle in public places. The places where animals could be let play free are defined in that decree as well.
In respect of the stray and abandoned animals the Municipality of Barcelona passes a prohibition of euthanasia on stray dogs in the Municipal shelters which entered in force on 1 Jan 2003. The Municipality relies on NGOs to support adoption of animals and reduction of their abandoning. The Organizations from the Animal Welfare Committee monitor the Municipal shelters. In respect of the stray cats in Barcelona, which are numerous, the Municipality passes a decree the cats not to be put in shelters because it is difficult to catch them and they reproduce quickly. The purpose of the Municipality, because of the fact that cats live in colonies near blocks of flats, is these colonies to be replaced. There is a worked-out program for the replacement of the colonies of cats in parks where animal welfare organizations and volunteers help them get used to living there by feeding them every day. NGOs, in turn, are engaged in sterilization of the cats.
The most important decision is that the Municipality of Barcelona has formed a police squat to observe the animal welfare and city ecology since the beginning of 2003. ------------------
International Court of Justice for Animal Rights
A project of Franz Weber Foundation, Switzerland
The project on the institutionalizing of the International Court of Justice for Animal Rights was represented at the conference personally by Mrs Judith Weber, a director of the Foundation. The start of this project was an international court with the participation of prominent judges all over Europe 23 years ago. The first juridical case of the International Court of Justice for Animal Rights was in 1981 against the Minister of Agriculture and Forests of Germany for his permission for transporting horses from Poland to Germany and France in horrible conditions. Most animals died of hunger and thirst on their way to their destination. The German government prohibited transportation of horses in 1982 and adopted special regulations. Also in 1982 The Court launches a case against the Prime Minister and the Minister of Agriculture and Forests of Canada for killing baby-seals. The trial was broadly commented in the media and under their pressure the state policy on hunting baby-seals ceased. One of the most important cases of the Court was the trial against Australia. The North Territories were used for hunting studs of wild horses from helicopters. Altogether with the trial, the Court organized a successful campaign for Australian trade in meat. After the sensational trial the Australian government prohibited officially shooting of wild horses and turned the North Territories into a spectacular sanctuary. “A court is not necessary if we can control our behaviour. But extreme situations need extreme solutions”, says Judith Weber. The International court, although not official but moral, works professionally and it has permanent representatives and experts in Geneva. It was in 1982 when the International Court heard a case against bullfights in Spain. Even Pope Paul II said in his official speech that those who attended bullfights were expelled from the church.
The speech of Judith Weber was illustrated by a movie on the establishing of the International Court and its work. Mrs. Weber explained the mechanisms how to appeal to the court and all the steps in details. First the Court has to be informed officially by bringing an appeal only on the behalf of a legitimate organization. Juridical evidences and photographs should support the appeal itself. It does not matter which country and continent the claimant is from if the Permanent Committee decides that is juridically reasonable and the case is put into court. At the end of her presentation Mrs. Weber claimed that the most effective animal protection is when the State itself has the will to add violence against animals as a crime with serious sanctions in the Criminal Code.
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