For the first time, Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca (SFM) has passed a regulation that allows dogs and other pets to travel on trains and metros. The regulation was published in the Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands (BOIB) on 11 April, and took effect on Friday, 12 April.
The initiative was finally approved by the SFM Board of Directors on 25 March, following the end of the public exhibition period and the allegations phase that started in February. The regulation allows passengers to travel on trains and metros with small pets, such as dogs, cats, ferrets and small birds (not poultry).
Among the restrictions includedin the regulation, people using trains and metros with pets must only travel in the last carriage of the train, and dogs must be kept on a leash and muzzled, or in carriers while on SFM premises; while cats, ferrets and small birds must travel inside specific carriers or containers.
All dogs must be microchipped for identification purposes. The regulation also stipulates that exotic animals (reptiles, spiders, insects, etc.) and dogs breeds on the list of potentially dangerous dogs are not allowed.
The regulation specifies that guide dogs accompanying blind and visually impaired persons; dogs trained for personal assistance and accompanying persons with disabilities; and guide dogs undergoing training who must be accompanied by their handlers are allowed unrestricted access to trains and metro facilities.
During the public exhibition period, which began in February and ended on 8 March, the public railway company received two allegations, one of which was partially accepted. Specifically, it establishes that females are not allowed to travel by train or metro while they are on heat, a measure proposed by the Plataforma Balear per a la Defensa dels Animals (Baldea). The new rules were approved by SFM's Board of Directors on 25 March, having been amended to account for the aforementioned request.
As announced at the start of processing the new regulation on 8 February, pets will travel free of charge on trains and metros, except for animals which are too large to travel in a carrier, for which a ticket must be purchased. All personal assistance dogs (guide dogs, dogs trained for personal assistance and guide dogs undergoing training) are excluded from the travel pass.
In view of the imminent entry into force of this regulation, SFM recommends that users avoid the busiest times of the day in order to facilitate coexistence between passengers and pets, and to keep a reasonable distance other users who may be frightened or uncomfortable close to the animal. The proposal stipulates that the pet owner must stay within half a metre of the pet.