In recent months, we have seen how many municipalities in Spain declare and define themselves as “Animal Friendly cities” at municipal plenary sessions. In fact, they don’t have to follow a set of established rules or be registered anywhere to do so. First of all, it is basically a statement of intent aimed at conveying the idea that animals are welcome to the council in question.
First of all, this is no small thing, given the dangerous situation in which many animals still live in our country. However, it must be recognized that solid steps have been taken in some countries to regulate some of these issues. For example, one of them is Portugal. In the neighboring country of Portugal, dogs are allowed by law to enter restaurants with their owners. Obviously, such a measure is not done without further ado. It is far from being an “open bar” for the entry of all animals. The final word on this issue always belongs to the institutions. However, they have to leave limited spaces inside, for example, in case someone wants to go there with their dog. Of course, in addition to the above, it also stipulates the attached regulations regarding the animal’s behavior and state of health. Of course, a complete deworming and vaccination is always necessary for them to reach.
By enacting laws in this way, Portugal is trying, above all, to protect coexistence and, of course, that no one is harmed. It is very important to ensure that there is no conflict in order to protect animals, because the last thing a law should do is create intolerance among animals. In Spain, unfortunately, we started to learn a lot about this subject.
Consensus is essential if what you really want is to protect animals. The rest just use them as an excuse to differentiate and fight.