Fuel supply firm Repsol has signed an agreement with the environmental protection branch of the Guardia Civil, Seprona, to assist in cases of abandonment or loss of domestic animals through their 3,500 service stations across Spain.
This initiative coincides with the launch of Repsol’s Christmas campaign, which tells the true story of Luca, a dog that was abandoned in May 2015 at the service station in the La Panadella area of Barcelona, who was looked after by a worker at the service station, later to be adopted by a family who had stopped to refuel.
Until now, in the event of staff at the service stations becoming aware of a stray animal, they would inform the Local Police of the municipality, who are the competent authority responsible for the collection of abandoned or lost pets.
Now, with this new agreement with the Guardia Civil, Repsol provides a national solution to the problem whilst reinforcing the company´s cooperation with the corp.
The Penal Code specifies that the abandonment of a domestic animal in conditions in which its life or integrity could be endangered will be punished by a fine of one to six months in prison. The guidelines agreed between Repsol and Seprona establishes that a worker at a service station that witnesses an abandonment must gather all the possible information (make, model and registration of the vehicle, people involved, images of the security cameras, witnesses, etc.) and pass that information to the Guardia Civil.
Repsol has distributed the information to all of their staff and highlighted that there are seasonal peaks in the number of recorded abandonments, which is reportedly the biggest problem domestic animals face in Spain, although there has been a slight reduction in the data since figures began to be recorded in 2008.
In the latest recorded data, 137,831 animals found themselves in shelters and with animal protection associations, 104,501 dogs and 33,330 cats. More than 66% of dogs are found on public roads, whereas other popular places are at service stations, supermarket entrances and parking lots.