Animal welfare law, farm subsidies and plant-based labelling in Spain
Spain shows how far a headline animal welfare law can be from the animals most affected by it. The 2023 act reformed companion animal rules substantially while leaving the roughly 60 million pigs slaughtered each year under EU minimums alone. The more consequential Spanish regulation of the last few years has been environmental rather than welfare-based.
Key facts
- World Animal Protection index
- D — Recent companion-animal reform, with farm animals, bullfighting and hunting largely carved out.
- Practices reviewed
- 7
- Outright bans
- 0 of 7
- Region
- Europe
What is banned, restricted or legal
Sentience in civil law
since 2021Animals are sentient beings, not objects, since 2021
Law 17/2021 reformed the Civil Code, the Mortgage Law and the Civil Procedure Act so animals cannot be treated as seizable property in the same way as objects.
National animal welfare law
since 2023Law 7/2023 excludes farmed animals
The statute covers companion and wild animals in captivity. Farmed animals, bulls used in festivities and hunting dogs were removed from scope during passage.
Bullfighting
Legally protected cultural heritage
A 2013 law declares bullfighting part of Spain's cultural heritage. Catalonia's regional ban was overturned by the Constitutional Court in 2016; the Canary Islands ban predates it and stands.
Intensive pig units (macrogranjas)
Size, water and emissions rules tightened
Royal Decree 306/2020 caps new unit size and sets biosecurity and distance requirements; a later decree addressed slurry and ammonia emissions.
Fur farming
New mink farms prohibited
Spain halted new mink farm authorisations, and farms were culled following SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks; a full statutory ban has been debated repeatedly.
Battery cages
EU minimum applies; enriched cages common
Spain remains one of the EU's larger users of enriched cages for laying hens.
Live exports
Major departure point for third-country exports
Spanish ports handle a large share of EU live cattle and sheep exports to North Africa and the Middle East, an area of persistent NGO criticism.
CAP receipts and the livestock economy
Spain receives roughly €6.9 billion a year from the CAP, with substantial coupled support for suckler cows, sheep, goats and dairy. Pig production, largely unsubsidised directly, depends on imported feed — Spain is among Europe's biggest soy importers, linking domestic farm policy to South American land use.
Annual CAP receipts
Pigs slaughtered annually
Soy imported for feed
Agriculture share of national water use
Plant-based naming in Spain
Spain applies EU rules without additional national restrictions on meat-style names, making it a comparatively permissive market: 'hamburguesa vegetal' is standard on shelves. Dairy names follow the EU reservation, so oat and soy products are sold as 'bebida'. The V-Label is administered in Spain by the Unión Vegetariana Española.
- Meat-style names permitted with clear plant-based designation
- 'Bebida de soja' rather than 'leche de soja' under EU dairy rules
- No national legal definition of 'vegano'; V-Label certification is widely used
- Spain's plant-based market is among the fastest growing in southern Europe
What is moving next
- 1
Proposals to extend Law 7/2023 to hunting dogs
- 2
Ongoing regional debates on ending public funding for bullfighting
- 3
Implementation of stricter emissions rules for intensive livestock units
Groups working on this
Questions people ask
Does Spain's animal welfare law cover farm animals?
No. Law 7/2023 covers companion and captive wild animals; farmed animals, bulls used in festivities and hunting dogs were excluded during its passage through parliament.
Is bullfighting legal in Spain?
Yes, and it is legally designated cultural heritage. Catalonia's ban was struck down by the Constitutional Court in 2016; the Canary Islands prohibition remains in force.
What are macrogranjas?
Very large intensive livestock units, mostly pig farms. Spanish regulation caps the size of new units and imposes biosecurity, water and emissions conditions, chiefly on environmental grounds.
Can plant-based products be called burgers in Spain?
Yes. Spain has not adopted national restrictions on meat-style names, so plant-based burgers and sausages are labelled as such with a clear vegetal designation.
How many pigs are farmed in Spain?
Around 58 million are slaughtered each year, the largest number in the European Union, supported by large volumes of imported soy feed.
Primary sources
Other countries
Reviewed 2026-08-23 by the Veg.ac editorial team · Data: Ley 7/2023 de protección de los derechos y el bienestar de los animales · Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link back.
Plain-language summary reviewed in 2026, not legal advice. Law changes — check the primary source before relying on it.