ARPA Submits Comprehensive Proposals for Andorra's Animal Welfare Law Overhaul

The Animal Rescue and Protection Association (ARPA) has presented a detailed set of proposals to the Andorran government for the forthcoming revision of the animal welfare law, calling for a preventive approach centered on animal traceability, administrative oversight, and owner responsibility to curb irregularities like unauthorized breeding and trade.

Delivered to the executive on Wednesday, the submission—reported by multiple outlets including El Periòdic and Diari d'Andorra—positions Andorra's compact size, limited registered animal numbers, and location between international borders as ideal for pioneering controls on reproduction, documentation, and movement. ARPA emphasizes practicality, stating it avoids unrealistic demands and seeks a "modern, coherent, and effective" system that prioritizes prevention over post-mistreatment penalties.

Central to the plan is a mandatory information and responsibility form required before any animal purchase, adoption, transfer, or ownership change. This would detail the animal's basic needs, legal duties, approximate costs, and traceability data. Before completing registration, authorities would conduct an identity check on the new owner, screening for legal restrictions while complying with data protection standards. Successful verification would trigger issuance of an enabling document to activate the animal's official registry, though its absence would not prevent veterinary care or emergency treatment. The proposals distinctly separate administrative duties from veterinary functions to bolster overall protection.

ARPA advocates enhanced veterinary tracking, litter monitoring, document verification, and consistent reproductive logging to eliminate gaps, particularly in under-supervised areas such as commercial hybrids, unofficial breeding lines, and "designer dogs." This aims to tackle illicit trade, underground economies, and uncontrolled reproduction without unduly hampering ethical breeders, while ensuring basic documentary standards amid Andorra's cross-border vulnerabilities.

Additional recommendations include professionalizing animal protection centers through training in behavior, handling, and care, with specialized staff in ethology. On housing, ARPA urges recognizing companion animals within family units and limiting bans to verifiable issues like genuine coexistence conflicts, proven health risks, or welfare incompatibilities—drawing on French legislation that voids blanket prohibitions in residences.

The association also pushes for clear regulations on animal training, education, and behavior modification, setting professional qualifications to prevent unqualified practices and intrusion. ARPA views the reform as a major step forward in modernizing the framework, promoting public accountability, and affirming animals as sentient members of society.