The executive said it was in favor of establishing a right for people residing in nursing homes to come accompanied by their pet.
This is news that should delight many French people. As animals become more and more important in our lives and more generally in our Western societies, the law must evolve in this direction. Friday March 1, the Minister Delegate in charge of the Elderly, Fadila Khattabi, spoke out in favor of the right of nursing home residents to go to these establishments accompanied by their pet, on the plateau of 4 Truths of Telematin, on France 2. An announcement which comes as the “aging well” bill will be debated in mid-March by Parliament. Proposal of law in which this provision already appears.
In the process, the Minister of Labor, Health and Solidarity, Catherine Vautrin, said that she was “favorable to […] to open the possibility in the law of welcoming pets in nursing homes” and invited parliamentarians “to take up this social issue with a view to further humanizing our nursing homes.” “This is an extremely important measure” , for his part greeted the president of the National Union of establishments and residences for the elderly on franceinfofor whom this “allows residents not to be isolated”, “to have continuity” with their previous lives or to avoid additional stress when they arrive in a nursing home.
Fadila Khattabi assured, for her part, that she would ensure that the provision, which must still be approved by parliamentarians in March, is “very quickly applied”, which should lead us to its implementation in the spring 2024. But don’t let the happy owners of friendly venomous spiders, charming marmosets and other felines of the African plains get carried away! Not all animals are on equal footing. “We will have to be realistic,” said the minister on France 2, immediately excluding the boa. “Dogs, cats, goldfish, little canary”, these are the animals that can be welcomed. West France recalls that to date, establishments are free to accept or refuse animals. If the provision is put in place, nursing homes, both private and public, will have no choice but to accept them.