Animal welfare NGOs welcomed the approval on Thursday by the European Parliament on a draft law which lays down the first ever minimum EU standards for the breeding, housing, and handling of cats and dogs.
The Parliament adopted its position on EU rules for the welfare and traceability of dogs and cats by 457 votes to 17, with 86 abstentions. “This marks a clear move against illegal breeding and the irresponsible importation of animals from outside the EU,” commented MEP Veronika Vrecionová (ECR, CZ), rapporteur and chair of the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee (AGRI).
“While further dialogue will be needed to fine-tune some details, I believe we are united in our aim to protect the welfare of dogs and cats. This shared commitment is a strong starting point for productive talks with talks with the Commission and the Council," she added.
As previously reported, the AGRI Committee adopted in beginning of June its position on the Commission’s proposal for a regulation on the welfare of dogs and cats and their traceability in the EU. The new rules aim to establish a level playing field for the welfare of dogs and cats that are bred or kept in breeding establishments, in pet shops and in shelters.
However, some loopholes remained in the position adopted by the AGRI committee. These loopholes have now been closed by the Parliament, according to welfare organisations FOUR PAWS and Eurogroup for Animals.
The new rules approved by the Parliament apply for all breeders and natural persons and are seen as a breakthrough for animal protection. Basic standards—such as proper feeding, veterinary care, and protection from abuse—will now apply to all breeders, closing the door on unregulated backyard breeding and abusive puppy and kitten mills.
“This vote marks real progress for animal welfare in the EU,” commented Georgia Diamantopoulou, Head of the European Policy Office at FOUR PAWS. “Every dog and cat deserve protection, no matter the size of the breeder.”
Around 44% of households in the EU have a pet animal. Trade in dogs and cats has grown considerably in recent years, with an annual value of €1.3 billion. It is estimated that 60% of dog and cat owners buy their pet via the internet. Online advertising of pets has soared in recent years, making it difficult for both consumers and authorities to verify the true origin and welfare background of pets.
MEPs want all dogs and cats kept in the EU to be individually identifiable with a microchip. They also demand that microchipped dogs and cats be registered in interoperable national databases. Microchip identification numbers, along with information about the corresponding national database, should be stored in a single index database managed by the Commission.
"We can finally speak of an attempt for a fully regulated pet trade. For far too long, animals were bred and kept in poor conditions in a multi-million-euro industry that received little attention," commented Iwona Mertin, Companion Animals Programme Leader at Eurogroup for Animals.
“This long-overdue measure will make it significantly harder for illegal breeders to operate under the radar, as every animal will now need to be traceable.," commented Georgia Diamantopoulou.
However, the issue of an online registration verification system still remains unsolved as the Parliament voted against it because of administrative burden concerns. The verification would have ensured that only animals that have been verifiably identified and registered could be advertised online.
Consumers would still have the option to use the system themselves to verify the registration of the advertised animal they are interested in. FOUR PAWS told The Brussels Times that it expects this issue to be resolved in upcoming reviews of the new legislation.
The NGOs welcome that the keeping or selling dogs and cats in pet shops will be prohibited. This closes off a major channel for impulse purchases and irresponsible breeding, often linked to poor welfare conditions.
MEPs also want to extend the rules to cover not only imports of pets for commercial purposes but also non-commercial movements of the animals. Dogs and cats imported from third countries for sale would have to be microchipped before their entry into the EU, and then registered in a national database.
The MEPs also voted in favor of a ban on the breeding of dogs or cats that have excessive conformational traits leading to a high risk of detrimental effects on their welfare, as well as a prohibition on these animals – and mutilated dogs and cats – being used in shows, exhibitions, or competitions.
On the positive side is also future protection of other companion animals, besides dogs and cats. “The Parliament has made future protection for wild animals kept as pets a reality,” commented Nick Clark, Wild Animals Programme Leader at Eurogroup for Animals. “By including a pathway for a Positive List in the draft law, it aims to ensure that only species assessed as suitable can be kept and sold as pets.”
