La Rioja maintains mandatory rabies vaccination for all dogs

The Governing Council of La Rioja has approved Decree 22/2026, of October 6, which modifies Decree 26/2014, of June 13, establishing the rules regarding rabies vaccine prophylaxis in the autonomous community. The provision is published in the Official Gazette of La Rioja (BOR) number 194, of October 8, 2026, within section I, General Provisions, and maintains the obligation to vaccinate all dogs against rabies starting from three months of age and with biennial periodicity. The decree will enter into force the day following its publication, that is, October 9, 2026.

A jurisdictional review, not a sanitary one

The regulation stems from a stable sanitary context: according to the text itself, Spain has been free of terrestrial rabies since 1978, with the sole exception of an imported case from Morocco declared in June 2013. Currently, imported cases of rabies in dogs occur sporadically only in the Autonomous Cities of Ceuta and Melilla, therefore the decree considers that the disease does not currently constitute a pressing public health problem.

The fundamental content of Decree 26/2014 remains unchanged regarding its object and scope, the mandatory nature of vaccination, the application of the vaccine, the type of vaccine to be supplied, and the accreditation thereof. For this reason, the Riojan Government opted to modify the existing decree instead of drafting a new one.

The origin of the reform is the report of February 16, 2026, from the Directorate General of Agriculture and Livestock, which requested the Department of Health and Social Policies to transfer the powers in this matter to the department with competencies in livestock. The decree is issued under article 148.1.21 of the Spanish Constitution and article 9.5 of the Statute of Autonomy of La Rioja.

The three precepts that change

The sole article of Decree 22/2026 modifies three precepts of Decree 26/2014:

• Article 4.2, type of vaccine: supply shall be carried out exclusively by authorized establishments and under the conditions provided for in Royal Decree 666/2023, of July 18, which regulates the distribution, prescription, dispensing, and use of veterinary medicines.
• Article 6, infractions and sanctions: failure to comply with the provisions of the decree and other related regulations shall be sanctioned by the competent body in livestock matters.
• First final provision, authorization for regulatory development: the head of the Department with competencies in livestock matters is empowered to issue the necessary complementary provisions.

The text recalls that Royal Decree 109/1995, of January 27, on veterinary medicines, was repealed by Royal Decree 666/2023, of July 18, recently modified by Royal Decree 767/2025, of September 2.

Registration, surveillance, and coordination

The modification also organizes the administrative framework in which prophylaxis is inscribed. Decree 26/2014 was issued repealing Order 5/2004, of May 25, which previously regulated the matter, and since then has mandated the compulsory registration of anti-rabies vaccinations in the Companion Animal Identification Registry (RIAC), regulated by Decree 61/2004, of December 3.

This registry depends organically and functionally on the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural World, and Environment, pursuant to Article 10 of Decree 56/2023, of July 14. The reform seeks coherence, efficacy, and efficiency in management, avoiding duplication and functional dispersion.

Regarding surveillance, the decree refers to the Contingency Plan for the Control of Terrestrial Rabies in Captive and Wild Animals in Spain, which articulates the coordination between the General State Administration and the autonomous communities. Participating entities include the Veterinary Health Alert Network (RASVE), the National Early Warning and Rapid Response System (SIAPR), and the Protocol of the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network (RENAVE).

The decree was signed in Logroño on October 6, 2026, by the president, Gonzalo Capellán de Miguel, and by the Minister of Health and Social Policies, María Martín Díez de Baldeón, following the agreement of the Governing Council on the same date, at the proposal of the minister and in accordance with the Consultative Council of La Rioja.

Impact for owners

The regulation does not introduce new burdens for dog owners: anti-rabies vaccination remains mandatory from three months of age and every two years, and non-compliance continues to be punishable. The relevant change is administrative: as of October 9, the competencies for control, sanctioning, and regulatory development pass to the ministry responsible for livestock, which also assumes the management of the RIAC. For owners in La Rioja, the practical consequence is that they must continue to prove the vaccination and its registry entry, now under the authority of a different department than the one that had been managing the prophylaxis.

Source: Official Gazette of La Rioja, no. 194, of October 8, 2026, section I. General Provisions, pp. 17051-17053 (official reference: BOR-A-20261008-I–83).