National companion animal protection framework
Law & Regulation
In Effect
March 29, 2023
Summary
Law 7/2023, of 28 March, on the protection of the rights and welfare of animals (Ley 7/2023, de 28 de marzo, de protección de los derechos y el bienestar de los animales) was published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE No. 75) on 29 March 2023 and entered into force on 29 September 2023. It constitutes Spain’s first national framework law specifically governing the keeping, protection, breeding, trade, transport, and use of companion animals, replacing a previously fragmented landscape of autonomous community and municipal norms. The law applies to companion animals as defined — primarily dogs, cats, and ferrets, with further species to be specified by royal decree — while explicitly excluding animals used in livestock production, bullfighting, and hunting from its central scope. Core provisions restrict companion animal breeding to registered breeders, prohibit online sales, and channel retail sale of dogs, cats, and ferrets through registered breeders following a one-year transition; the law also establishes immediate prohibitions on keeping certain high-risk species pending a comprehensive positive list, and mandates identification, insurance, and training requirements for dog owners to be detailed by subsequent royal decree. An administrative sanction regime with fines up to €200,000 backs the framework, with enforcement primarily delegated to autonomous communities and local authorities.
Background Context
Before Law 7/2023, Spain’s regulation of companion animals consisted of autonomous community and municipal norms with heterogeneous standards and enforcement capacities, plus Criminal Code provisions on animal mistreatment and abandonment. No dedicated state-level law governed companion animal keeping, trade, or species eligibility. The law was enacted alongside Organic Law 3/2023 (also published in BOE No. 75 on 29 March 2023), which extended criminal animal abuse offences to all vertebrate animals and created Title XVI bis of the Criminal Code — Organic Law 3/2023 constitutes the criminal dimension of the same legislative moment. The 2021 Law 17/2021 had previously reclassified animals in the Civil Code as sentient beings distinct from movable property, providing civil law context for the 2023 reforms. Opposition from hunting interests and livestock producer organisations contributed to the explicit exclusion of production animals, hunting animals, and bullfighting from the law’s central scope.
System Impact
System Scale Direction
Neutral / Administrative
Type
Modifies Conditions
Significance
Moderate
Law 7/2023 was published on 29 March 2023 and entered force on 29 September 2023. Core owner obligations (identification, limits on unsupervised periods, prohibitions on certain confinement and devices) became operative at that date. Online sales of companion animals were prohibited from entry into force. The one-year transition for pet shop sales of dogs, cats, and ferrets expired on 29 September 2024, after which only registered breeders may retail these species. Species restrictions based on interim prohibitions are operative pending positive list publication. The administrative sanction framework is operative, with competent authorities (primarily autonomous communities and local authorities) empowered to impose fines and disqualification measures. The Defensor del Pueblo has referenced Law 7/2023 in its documentation of national norms. Public consultation on the implementing royal decree for positive lists commenced October 2025. No suspension, repeal, or formal blocking of Law 7/2023 is documented in sources consulted.
Anticipated Effects
If the positive list royal decree is adopted, companion animal keeping will be channelled into a defined set of permitted species categories, closing off the legal acquisition and keeping of non-listed species by private individuals — the most structurally significant anticipated effect on the companion animal sector.
If breeding and sale restrictions are consistently enforced, the commercial pet trade will be reconfigured by consolidating authorised breeding entities and reducing informal trade and unregistered retail channels.
If the dog owner training and compulsory liability insurance requirements are implemented by royal decree, additional entry and ongoing obligations will condition the profile of registered dog owners.
Whether Law 7/2023 has produced measurable changes in companion animal numbers, trade volumes, or species composition in Spain is not established in available sources; legal analyses as of 2025 report the law’s practical impact as constrained by the absence of key implementing royal decrees.
Significance Rationale
The law applies nationally across all of Spain, establishes the first national companion animal framework, and affects all owners and commercial operators in the companion animal trade — but does not eliminate the companion animal system or document a large-scale change in animal numbers in the short term.
Within The System
Key Actors
The Cortes Generales adopted the law; the King promulgated it. The Ministerio de Derechos Sociales y Agenda 2030 led drafting and holds competence for implementing royal decrees. Autonomous communities and local authorities are the primary enforcement bodies. Commercial actors directly subject include registered breeders, pet shops (subject to transition), online platforms, and transport operators. The Consejo General de Colegios Veterinarios de España and named NGOs have monitored implementation. The Defensor del Pueblo has referenced the law in official documentation.
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