Date:July 4, 2003


CHILE


MOTION

It ESTABLISHES NORMS ON THE BREEDING, POSSESSION AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS TRAINING OF DOGS

They SEEN: the arranged thing in the Articles 60 and 62 of the Political Constitution of the Republic; it prescribed in the Law N† 18.918 Organic Constitutional of the National Congress and it established in the Regulation of the H. Chamber of Representatives.

CONSIDERING:

1† That the Political Constitution of the Republic and the International Pacts on Human rights subscribed by Chile, assure to all the inhabitants of the Republic the right to the life and to the physical integrity and sÌquica and establish like a duty of the State, and therefore of this Legislative Power, the promotion of these values humanists.

2† That in recent years, and fruit in part of the phenomenon of the qualitative and quantitative increase of the delinquency, many persons and families have taken the decision to acquire and many times to coach, by itself or through third parties to dogs belonging to races that have been qualified for the etologÌa and the veterinary science as potentially dangerous. In our country, the breeding and possession of these dogs, has had an explosive increase as it reflect the statistics of the Kennel Club of Chile, only company recognized by the Company CinolÛgica International to register and to certify the pedigree of the dogs.

3† That the cause of the potential danger of these dogs, should be found in the selection and crosses that have been objects, to produce individuals with certain characteristic very precise genetics as is the ferocity and the distrust with the human beings, what in the facts, does them unstable in their behavior, what has been described for scientific studies and by studies of cases, where always the attack, have been unexpected.

4† That in Chile have been described and informed the public opinion a very worrying series of incidents, in which has fitted participation to dogs belonging to very specific races, the ones that have attacked in an unexpected way persons or other animals. Similar situation, and even with greater frequency, has been registered to international level, with fatal results in more than one opportunity.

5† That this type in fact, obliges us like State to take the measures of shelter of the health and the life of the persons, annulling or al less diminishing the risk that emanates of the potential danger of these dogs. Today, these dogs, that were thought for some as a half suitable one to confront the problems of the security citizen, put in check, exactly that value, that intended safeguards.

6† That on the other hand, we should consider a series of empty existing in our legislation on the shelter of the rights of the animals in general and that they promote really the responsible possession for mascots, what gives p·bulo to situations as the abandonment, the desprotecciÛn and evil I try these beings.

7† That these deficiencies, to our judgment should also be undertaken for the Public Power, for which, turns out to be urgent to accelerate the legislative procedure of the government Bill on Protection of the Rights of the Animals, that assures the rights of these beings, brothers less than the man, as them has defined so wise the doctrine Humanist and Christian.

8† That to international level in matter of protection to the animal servants, have been established a series of institutions and norms to promote their responsible possession and their care, doing an adult person head before the company by the welfare of the animal and by the damages the one that eventually these they can cause. We believe, that continuing the tendency of the most developed countries, to should be established the obligation of the persons of registering to these animals, in the local administrations and eventually to pay, who they be in economic conditions associate of doing it, an annual right, that permit to these administrations, to arrange of fresh resources for their plans of health and care of these animals. The payment of rights by the possession of mascots been present in countries as France, Spain, Germany, United States of North America and Canada among others.

9† That in the experience compared, attack incidents fruit of the potentially dangerous dogs, the central states or the legislatures estaduales, have established restrictions to the rights of the persons that raise or make use of these animals, as a way of safeguards the rights of the remainder of the community.

They emphasize among several norms, the laws of the Autonomous Communities of Catalonia, of Madrid and of from Navarre in Spain and the French Law on potentially dangerous animals, which establish special obligations for the owners, holders or possessors of these dogs that go since the to take insurances against damages to third parties, passing for special norms on the places or places in which the animals are servants, to restrictions to their circulationBy national goods of public use (streets and plazas, for example) or by common spaces in general (walkways or patios in condominios).

Likewise, in other legal codes, themselves to has arrived straight to prohibit the breeding and crossing of this class of animals to the extent that seems extreme, every time, that the responsibility of the harmful acts to the rights of the persons, are not attributable to the animals neither to its races, but to the human intervention on them and they.

10† That we advance, consequently, that the major emphasis of any legislation of this type should be in the responsibility of the owners and holders of the dogs, inasmuch as are they, with the breeding and training of these animals the ones that generate the risks for the population. Because of it, it is that we establish in this government bill, of departure the obligation to have them recorded in a Public Registration, although we do not need, by reasons of admisibilidad constitutional the public organ in charge of the same one, although since already we indicate, that to our judgment should be the Municipality, as administration more close to the people. Likewise, we prescribe, in an analogous way, to the present Weapons Control Law and Explosive, that the owners or holders of the potentially dangerous dogs, that take charge of to need, in a prior way to the acquisition and registration of the canes, they count on a certificate sent off by a medical one siquiatra that accredit that they do not suffer of serious mental pathologies, that can be declared in episodes of chaos, violence and aggressiveness. We insist, the dogs, can arrive at to be utilized like mortal weapons, of that today there is not doubts some and we should act consequently. Another norm that incorporate is the one that establishes the obligation of registration and control on the part of the authority (we believe that would fit to the services or departments of health of the Environment of each Service of Health), of the establishments of breeding with commercial end of all types of dogs and the overseeing also of the businesses or natural persons dedicated al training or training of this class of animals. The danger of them, emanates, many times of the action of this classes of subjects, that be by means of the selection or crosses or by means of the education of the animals, they develop their danger and aggressiveness.

11† That we recognize the contribution of the animal servants and of the dogs particularly al development of the human company. Since the whiteness of the times, they, live together and helped al man with their I work in tasks as diverse as the care of other animals (dogs shepherds), in the shooting of survival and sports (dogs sleuths and hunting) and with their forces in the transportation (dogs to drag), and today are instruments of support of the drugs inquiry work, detection of explosives, rescue of persons in catastrophes natural or of support to the armed institutes in the functions of shelter of the sovereignty and of the public security. It is not our intention the to create an unwarranted public alarm far from it to incite al hatred or refusal on this class of animals. They, are not responsible for the interventions, that in their genetics has performed the man neither of the form of breeding and training of which are objects. It is a matter of protecting them to them also, a dog that attacks to another animal or to a human being, risks always their life, as a result of the action of its own masters, of third parties or of the Sanitary Authority.

We want, a culture of respect to the rights of the animals and al same time to face the challenge to protect in a suitable way the general interest of all the citizens, of not being seen exposed to unexpected attacks that can have tragic consequences, we cannot expect that there they be deaths of persons, to advance in a legislative solution to this problem.

THEREFORE, The representatives that subscribe, we come in presenting, the following one,

GOVERNMENT BILL

FIRST ARTICLE.- Are potentially dangerous dogs and consequently remain subject to the dispositions of this law the following: a) Those, any that be its race, that had attacked persons or other animals. B) Those, any that be their race, that in the judgment of the authority they show an aggressive and unstable behavior. C) Those, any that be its race that have been trained for the attack and defense by its owners or by third parties, with exclusion of the employees by the Forces of Order and Public Security and by the Armed Forces. D) Those copies, without importing their age, that belong to the following races, they be pure by pedigree, pure by crosses or racially mixed: rottweiler, pit bull, dobermann, mastiff napolitano, tosa Japanese, dogo Argentine, dogo of burgundy, bullmastiff, staffordshire, of prey canario and row brasileiro.

SECOND ARTICLE.- The animals indicated in the previous article should be recorded in a public registration, by their owners, the ones that will receive a carnet, that authorizes them for the breeding and possession of these animals and for their displacement in the public way. Al moment of to be recorded the copies in the potentially dangerous Registration of Dogs, their owners should exhibit to the authority a certificate sent off by a medical one siquiatra, paymaster for the exercise of the profession, that of faith that the petitioner of the inscription does not suffer of serious psychiatric pathologies that they can be declared in a violent, aggressive behavior or descontrolado. Likewise, al moment of its inscription, the owners of these animals should subscribe a contract of insurance by damages that its dog be able caused third parties, copy of whose policy should be filed in the administrative company of the Registration.

ARTICLE THIRD.- The potentially dangerous dogs should be harbored in resistant and sure installations, that they impede their huÌda. A Regulation will determine its characteristic techniques of security, height, consistency and distance of the streets or other public spaces and the form in which should be seÒalizadas if fuere need.

FOURTH ARTICLE.- The subject dogs to this law should always be conducted in the public spaces, including the national goods of public use, or other urban spaces and in the common goods in the subject real estate to the Law of Copropiedad Common, properly tied and with a bozal. The strap and the bozal should be proportional as for size and resistance to the configuraciÛn physical of the animal. The displacement of these dogs in the places before indicated should be done for a person over 16 years.

FIFTH ARTICLE.- The competent authority in the control of the fulfillment of this Law will be able to oblige the owners of the potentially dangerous dogs to submit them to the processing of reeducaciÛn, therapeutic and eventually surgical to diminish its aggressiveness. In case of serious and imminent risk for the health of the population, and subject to authorization of the Local Judge of Police of the Common one, will be able to be arranged the sacrifice of these animals, the one that should be performed by means of painless methods.

SIXTH ARTICLE.- The legal and natural persons, that they be dedicated to the breeding or al training of these dogs, they will remain you hold al control of the public authority. A Regulation will determine the material demands and of methods of crossing and training of this class of animals in said establishments.

ARTICLE SEPTIMO: The infractions to this law will be able to be sanctioned, by the Local Court of Police of the common one where the infraction with the following griefs have been produced. A) With fine from 1 to 20 monthly tax Units for the owners or holders of the animal b) With fine from 5 to 50 monthly Tax Units, temporary closure, until three months and final closure, by infraction to the imposed obligations to
the legal and natural persons dedicated to the young, crossing and training of this class of animals.

LEOPOLDO S¡NCHEZ GRUNERT Representative