Baix Camp debuts regional regulation for the collection and care of abandoned animals

The Plenary of the Baix Camp County Council definitively approved on September 29, 2026, the Regulation governing the service of collection, transport, housing, maintenance, and veterinary care for abandoned, lost, seized, or dead companion animals in the county. The full text is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Tarragona on November 5, 2026, between pages 1 and 30, with the official reference CVE 2026-10070, and is transcribed therein for its entry into force. The regulation is the result of a lengthy procedure: the same Plenary had initially approved it on May 19, 2026, and on July 23, 2026, the notice of public exhibition was published in the BOPT and on the electronic headquarters, in accordance with Article 49 of the Law regulating the bases of the local regime; during the process, allegations were presented which the Plenary resolved prior to the final approval.

The regulation unfolds across sixteen articles, grouped into seven titles and with five final provisions, covering the entire management cycle of companion animals found lost, abandoned, or seized in the county. Its objective is to regulate the legal, organizational, and functional regime of the county public service, “for the purposes of its provision through the delegation of competencies from the city councils,” and it is complemented by the County Action Program and current sectoral regulations: Law 7/2023, of March 28, on the protection of animal rights and welfare, Legislative Decree 2/2008, of April 15, and Law 10/1999, of July 30, on dogs considered potentially dangerous, among others.

Voluntary adhesion and obligations for city councils

The service is not automatic: municipalities that expressly request it shall adhere to it through an inter-administrative agreement that must establish the scope of the delegated competencies, the duration and extension regime, the economic regime, and the control mechanisms. However, the delegation does not exempt the councils from the ultimate responsibility for animal protection within their jurisdiction.

Adhering municipalities assume at least these obligations:

• Immediately communicate incidents regarding abandoned, lost, or seized animals to the County Council or the managing entity.
• Collaborate in the identification of the owner, with access to municipal records and coordination with the local police.
• Budgetarily allocate sufficient funds for their contributions.
• Promote responsible ownership and the prevention of abandonment.
• Exercise the sanctioning competencies that correspond to them.
• Manage community cats and feline colonies, a matter expressly excluded from the county service.
• Keep contact channels and contact persons for emergencies updated.

The service includes collection, transport in authorized vehicles, accommodation in an animal protection center registered as a zoological nucleus, maintenance, and veterinary care including an initial examination, urgent care, microchipping, and vaccination. The service must guarantee 24-hour availability for injured animals or those at vital risk.

Twenty days to recover the animal and costs borne by the owner

Once admitted, the animal is immediately identified and the center notifies the registered owner of the collection, the place of accommodation, the recovery period, the expenses generated, and the consequences of not retrieving it. The minimum period is 20 days from the effective notification or the time it was made available; if this period passes without the owner appearing, the animal may be considered abandoned and will remain at the disposal of the service.

The owner must pay the expenses for collection and transport, accommodation and maintenance, veterinary assistance and identification or mandatory treatments, according to the economic regime of the Comarcal Council or the applicable fiscal ordinance. The administrative route remains open in case of non-payment.

Zero slaughter and adoption as the preferred destination

The text enshrines the principle of zero slaughter and prohibits euthanasia for economic reasons, space, overpopulation, or mere management. It may only be practiced with a reasoned veterinary report in two cases:

• Serious illness or injury with irreversible suffering that cannot be palliated with treatment.
• Serious and proven risk to the health or safety of people or other animals.

Once the legal deadlines have passed without a claim, the preferred destination is responsible adoption, open to adults and legal entities that are not disqualified or sanctioned for serious animal protection infractions and who can prove adequate accommodation and care. Temporary fostering is also provided for and, within the scope of the ethical management of community cats, the TNR method (trap, neuter, and return) under veterinary supervision.

Proportional funding and sanctioning ceiling

The service is funded by contributions from the adhering municipalities, calculated according to the number of inhabitants and the annual average of animal admissions in recent years, without prejudice to possible grants from the Generalitat de Catalunya. The regulation does not create new infractions or sanctions: it refers to current legislation and makes it clear that the sanctioning power belongs exclusively to each city council, while the Comarcal Council acts only as technical support, providing reports and evidence, without the power to initiate or resolve proceedings.

The impact of the regulation is twofold: for the city councils, it represents a homogeneous framework and a recurring expense linked to the number of inhabitants and animals collected; for the owners, it makes the recovery of the animal a right conditioned upon the full payment of the costs generated. The text enters into force the day after its publication in the BOPT and binds all adhering municipalities, with a transitional provision for animals admitted before that date.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Tarragona, no. of 5-11-2026, pp. 1-30 (official reference: CVE 2026-10070).