Trigueros del Valle,a town in Spain with a population of just 300 has become the first municipality in Spain to recognise dogs and cats as "non-human residents" awarding them equal rights to co-exist alongside their human counterparts.

Pedro J Pérez Espinosa, the socialist mayor of the town in the province of Valladolid, introduced the so-called Renedo Declaration to guarantee the rights of dogs and cats as citizens of the town.

"Dogs and cats have been living among us for over a thousand years," said the mayor after the measure was voted in during a plenary session on Monday. "And the mayor must represent not just the human residents but must also be here for the others."

The animal bill of rights was approved unanimously by the new town council.

bbabo.Net