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article_detail
Date Published: 28/10/2021
ARCHIVED - Couple splits and gets joint custody of dog in Spain
The case sets a precedent for making divorced couples ‘co-caretakers’ of pets in Spain
A Spanish judge has made an uncommon ruling in a case concerning the separation of a couple in Madrid by granting them joint custody of their dog.
The couple, who had split up, took the case to court to decide who the Panda the dog should live with, and the judge ended up that both parties were “jointly responsible” and should be “co-caretakers”. The dog will now alternate between the two partners for a month at a time.
The lawyer who brought the case to court admitted it was a “pioneering” ruling, and will set a precedent for future rulings on the status of pets in Spain just as the country considers ratifying a new law to give animals the rights of living beings rather than mere objects, and to deny child custody to people convicted of animal abuse.
Evidence submitted for the case include the pet adoption contract, veterinary bills and photographs where “the three are seen as a family, exactly the same as if it were a family photo with children,” said Lola García from the law firm Law & Animals.
The judge ruled that “the evidence in the proceedings reveals an affective relationship between the plaintiff and the dog that is worthy of legal guardianship”. This kind of view of the pet as a being with rights is not unheard of in Europe, with France having considered animals in this way since 2014. In places like the UK, however, dogs are legally seen as inanimate objects and in divorce proceedings there can only be one owner.
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