Simon Wade
TWO PET owners in San Vicente del Raspeig are paying the price for going out without a necessary muzzle on their dangerous dogs.
Fines of €2,704 have been imposed on each of them by the local council after being caught walking their dogs without protection AND not having the right licence for them.
The licence in question expects many obligations from the owner, including the need to have taken out civil liability insurance.
In a separate incident, another dog owner faces a similarly large fine after his pet bit someone after escaping its leash.
Other fines include three other residents of the town, five miles north of Alicante, being fined €1,050 for letting potentially dangerous dogs loose on the street.
The fines are understood to be part of a crackdown that originally came into force in May, 2019, according to reports.
But local authorities have only just started clamping down on owners, requiring licences, muzzles, a non-extensible leash or chain of less than 2 metres, and maximum ownership of only one dangerous dog.
Breeds considered potentially dangerous include:
- Akita Inu
- American Staffordshire Terrier
- American Pit Bull Terrier
- Bullmastiff, Bull Terrier
- Doberman Pinscher
- Dogo Argentino
- Dogue de Bordeaux
- Fila Brasileiro
- Neapolitan Mastiff
- Perro de Presa Canario
- Perro de Presa Majorcan
- Rottweiler
- Staffordshire Bull Terrier
- Tosa Inu
Some 25 fines in total were issued by San Vicente del Raspeig City Council during 2021, for dog owners not complying with the regulations.
Other fines include not picking up dog excrement and not submitting the pet to a vet’s examination after biting someone.
Local Councillor for Health, Lucía Rubio, said that, “the city is a common space that we all have to take care of and keep clean [so] we are committed to raising awareness and improving compliance.”
She then revealed that San Vicente has one dog for every two households.
According to her department’s own data, some 15,275 dogs are registered and chipped through the municipality.
READ MORE: People power produces pooch park for pet owners in popular expat area on Spain’s Costa Blanca
