How Can These Dogs be Classed as Dangerous?

T
wo
weeks ago Round Town News printed an article about the new dog laws
that were coming into force at the start of the year. After many phone
calls, research on the internet, a meeting with dog owners as well as a
conversation with a top vet, RTN can clarify the finer points of the
new law so that dog owners will no longer be worried about taking their
pets out for walks without incurring a fine. The article, that was
based on a release from an animal organisation, stated that under the
new law Pit Bull Terriers, all Bull breeds, all Mastiffs, the Canary
Island Prey Dog, the Caucasian Shepherd, the Bordeaux, the Brazilian
Fita, the Akita Ino, the Doberman, the Rottweiler, the Corsican Can,
the German Shepherd and any dog weighing over 25 kilos are classed as
Potentially Dangerous. As a result owners of these breeds must register
their animal with the local authorities and must also have a special
license to possess such an animal.


The actual reality is that the following dogs under the law, which
is named as the Real Decreto 287/2002, not all bull terriers apply.
Joaquin Pamies who is one of the vets at Petsworld in Torrevieja said;
"There are 14 breeds and several other dogs that come into the category
that the law applies to, but dogs not in the specified list must have
all or most of the characteristics, short hair or being over 20 kilos
will not be sufficient for the law to be applicable to the dog." A copy
of the law was made available to RTN and we can list the dogs that are
applicable to the law as follows... Specific Breeds: Pit Bull Terrior,
Staffordshire Bull Terrior, American Staffordshire Bull Terrier,
Rottweiler, the Argentinian Dogo, Brazilian Fita, the Akita Ino and the
Tosa Ino. Other Characteristics:

The dogs must have all or most of the following characteristics…
Strong muscular body, powerful appearance, athletic shape, agile,
strong and resilient. Strong and forceful dogs with short hair and have
a circumference of 60 to 80 centimetres, measure 50 to 70 centimetres
head to toe and weigh more than 20kg. So basically, if you a have a
lovely, well mannered, long haired, golden Labrador, this law will not
be applicable to your dog. Also on the list of characteristics is a
small dog with large, broad wide heads, who are robust and angled
cheekbones and long strong jaws. Dogs that have broad, wide, muscular
and short necks and dogs with solid, angular, profound chests with
hunched arched and muscular shoulders also fall into this category.

The people that I met last week in Torrevieja had been very confused
about the original article and are happy that RTN are here to set the
record straight. They would like to point out though that it is not
just the expat community that need to know the laws but also the
Spanish and other foreigners. One of the owners, Maud said; "It would
have been such a shame if people had read the original article and
thought that they couldn't afford the licences and so abandoned their
pets as a result. I am glad that RTN have returned to this issue and
have clarified the points of the law."