A sparsely populated Spanish town becomes the first to identify cats and dogs as "non-human residents," giving them equal rights to co-exist alongside humans, The Huffington Post reported.
Pedro J. Perez Espinosa, the socialist mayor of Trigueros del Valle, which has a population of 300 people, said the declaration was improved in order to "dignify the lives of dogs and cats, animals which have shared with man thousands and thousands of years and have been a great help to him," The Telegraph reported.
The town's council approved the so-called Renedo Declaration unanimously during a plenary session, which took place on Monday. The declaration comprises of 13 articles, which contain statements such as "all residents are born equal and have the same right to existence," and "a resident, whether human or non-human, is entitled to respect."
Moreover, the declaration outlines basic rules against animal cruelty; For example, article 9a states, "No non-human resident should be exploited for the pleasure or recreation of man."
Article 6b of the animal bill of rights states, "The abandonment of a non-human resident is a cruel and degrading act," according to Fox News.
Animal charities welcomed the town's decision, with the hope that the law is introduced across the country, which is famed for bull fighting.
"This is a great day for humans and non-human citizens alike," said an animal rights organization, Rescate 1.
"Today, we are closer as species and we are now more human thanks to the sensitivity and intelligence shown by the people of Trigueros del Valle," the NGO said.
The ruling comes as U.S. animal rights activists are struggling to get chimpanzees the same rights as human beings. In a landmark ruling earlier this year, a court ruled that two chimps who live in a laboratory cannot be treated as property, but instead must be considered as legal persons, as HNGN previously reported.
