Legal Aspects Of Animals In Shop Windows
The need for regulations that regulate the relationship between people and animals is an issue that generates controversy. Animal abuse is an everyday thing, and laws have been made necessary to prevent it. Animal protection organizations try to sensitize people. The display of animals in shop windows is one of the most discussed topics.
The claim and regulation basis is simple and obvious. Animals are not objects, but living beings endowed with sensitivity. This is recognized by the legal order. The rules that regulate the responsible keeping of animals are based on this principle.
How does Spain approach animal protection legislation?
Animal abuse is now a crime and, therefore, is punishable by law. This is common to all the Spanish autonomous communities, although the rules are different. Until now, Spain has not achieved national legislation on this matter, although animal protection associations continue to demand it.
An example of concern about the treatment of animals is Zaragoza. As of 2015, the Municipal Ordinance of this autonomous community on the protection of responsible ownership and sale of animals governs.
Why are animals displayed in shop windows?
It is a fact that business windows are not only used to show what is sold. They are a powerful hook of attraction when you know how to exploit the resource.
In the case of the sale of animals, shop windows play a very important marketing role. When people pass a store and see an animal, the effect on sensitivity can determine the purchase. Displaying animals in shop windows does not have the same effect as putting up a sign indicating that these animals are being sold without showing them live.
The Zaragoza Ordinance prohibits the display of animals in shop windows. This prohibition has led to many complaints, especially when its application began. But now it is a consolidated norm and the animal sales establishments have accepted it.
In practice, accepting is not the same as complying. As often happens with laws, controls are not installed to ensure compliance. Animals are often seen in shop windows, sometimes in depressing conditions. In the absence of controls, animal protection associations urge the population to report these cases.
What specifically does the Ordinance state?
The Ordinance establishes that animals may not be displayed in shop windows. Specifically, it determines that they must be located at least one meter away from the access to the premises. And it clarifies that they cannot be seen from outside the establishment.
With this game rule, whoever wants to see an animal must enter the premises. What is the effect you want to achieve? That the act of buying and selling an animal is previously considered, thus avoiding compulsive buying. It is a measure that appeals to the responsibility of the human being.
And what is the objective? An attempt is made to reduce the problems of abandonment of animals and irresponsible ownership. There is a basic assumption in this intention.
If someone buys an animal because they really want it, they should have everything necessary to keep it. You will have thought about where it will stay, what will happen to the animal when the house is alone, what place it will occupy in the home environment.
On the other hand, when a compulsive purchase is made because the animal attracted attention from the shop window, things will not be so easy. The animal can become annoying and will end up in unsuitable or abandoned conditions.
And the rest of the autonomous communities?
The example of Zaragoza is one of the most advanced on the subject. While all animal protection laws establish regulations on the sale of pets, only a few communities have legislated on the display of animals in shop windows. This is the case of Catalonia, Cantabria, Extremadura and the Balearic Islands.
There are other communities that, although they do not prohibit the exhibition, establish detailed conditions aimed at the welfare of the animals. It is about temperature regulation, space size, oxygenation, lighting, among others.
Spain is walking at a slow pace in the creation of an animal protection law at the state level. The activists summoned by more than 600 associations are continuously mobilized for the vindication of this type of animal rights.
