Mexico City, August 20 – The protection and well-being of companion animals in Mexico City (CDMX) are one step closer to an unprecedented legislative advancement. Following the approval of the so-called shared custody law, or “who gets the dog?”, the Movimiento Ciudadano (MC) bench in the local Congress is now seeking to establish alimony for sentient beings in cases of divorce, separation, or the dissolution of de facto unions.
New Initiative Aims to Provide Clarity for Judges
Luisa Ledesma Alpízar, vice-coordinator of the MC bench in the Donceles precinct, explained to Reporte Índigo that the central objective of the initiative is to provide clear tools for judges to end the economic uncertainty suffered by animals when a couple decides to end their emotional relationship.
“Last year we approved this great initiative called ‘who gets the dog?’. While sentient beings are now included in divorce agreements, it was important to implement the guidelines, that is, for judges to have specific tools to be able to provide attention to sentient beings,” detailed the MC legislator.
The proposal, presented to the Permanent Commission of the CDMX Congress on August 5, formalizes the addition of a specific chapter to the local Civil Code to comprehensively regulate the maintenance of pets.
Protection Extends Beyond Traditional Marriage
A crucial point of the project is that it extends the scope of protection beyond traditional civil marriage, recognizing that emotional ties are formed in various forms of cohabitation, such as concubinage, common-law partnerships, and even dating relationships.
“The most important thing about this proposal is that it no longer only contemplates it for marriages, but also for any type of emotional bond between two people. This ensures that our sentient beings are always well despite the separation of their family,” she specified.
The Case of Lucas and the Origin of Pet Alimony in CDMX
The framework of this proposal arises from jurisdictional precedents that highlighted the urgency of regulating the matter. One of the most notorious triggers at the national level was the case of Lucas, a husky dog in Tabasco whose guardianship resulted in a court order for the payment of alimony.
However, at the local level, justice administrators lacked express criteria to assess the economic obligations of the parties.
“The case of Lucas was thanks to the ‘who gets the dog?’ law, because from there a precedent was set for judges to be able to rule and provide alimony for pets in case of separation. Precisely, there were no specific rules for what is understood as alimony for sentient beings; that was the legal vacuum that existed,” Ledesma said.
According to the deputy, this initiative fills these gaps by establishing the items that make up the alimony: adequate food, coverage of veterinary care, acquisition of medicines, and rehabilitation if required. Likewise, she indicated, objective elements are established that the judge must weigh, such as the animal’s living environment and the economic capacity of the guardians.
In relationships not formalized by a marriage certificate, the legislator pointed out that the evidentiary mechanism will be substantial. “That is where judges have to have sufficient evidence from when the pet was in the courtship to see that there really was an emotional bond between them and the pet. That is what the initiative establishes,” she added.
Payment and Provisional Measures to Protect Animals After Divorce
The parliamentary discussion is fully inserted into the comprehensive agenda of the Public Care System, one of the primary banners of the MC faction. For the first time in civil legislation, the door is opened for judges to value the unpaid work carried out by the person who assumes the daily care of the animal.
“Judges will be the ones who will be in charge of deciding not only the maintenance of the pet, but also, depending on the case, the person who cares for the sentient being can also be remunerated. We hope that the judges do their job; we are doing ours from here promoting animal welfare and care, but the Judicial Power needs to do its part,” Ledesma remarked.
Likewise, the initiative contemplates immediate assurance through precautionary measures to prevent the animal from being left helpless while the divorce trial is being processed, a fact that occurs between 10,200 and 10,500 times a year in CDMX according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).
“There are mechanisms for judges to guarantee the welfare of sentient beings from day one. It is practically as they do with a child: while all the evidence procedure is being done, they will not leave him without food. They have to put in provisional measures to guarantee their well-being,” stressed the local deputy.
Multi-species Families: The New Demographic Reality in CDMX
Faced with conservative positions that question equating civil obligations towards sentient beings or the notion of the multi-species family, the capital legislator addressed the debate by pointing out that it is about responding to the sociodemographic reality of CDMX and the country.
“Assigning rights to a sentient being who does not speak does not mean that we are taking away rights from ourselves as humans; moreover, we are giving a voice to those who have no voice. New families are multi-species -and I include myself there- they are part of an agenda that young people are very interested in, because many no longer decide to have children and now we want to have pets,” she emphasized.
It should be noted that the draft reform to the Civil Code was formally referred to the Commission for the Procurement and Administration of Justice. After its analysis and opinion in committees, it is expected to be submitted to the plenary of the CDMX Congress for discussion and eventual approval in an upcoming ordinary session.
