MEPs have approved the EU’s first bloc-wide rules on the breeding, housing, traceability, import and handling of cats and dogs, including mandatory microchipping and registration for pets kept in the EU.
The regulation passed by 558 votes to 35, with 52 abstentions, the parliamentary press service announced on Tuesday.
All dogs and cats kept in the EU, including privately owned animals, will have to be identifiable with microchips and registered in interoperable national databases — meaning national systems will be able to work together.
Sellers, breeders and shelters will have four years from the law entering into force to comply with the new identification and registration rules.
For pet owners who do not sell animals, the requirement will apply after 10 years for dogs and 15 years for cats.
Breeding restrictions and limits on equipment
Breeding between close relatives — including parents and offspring, grandparents and grandchildren, and between siblings and half-siblings — will be forbidden under the new rules, according to the Parliament.
Breeding dogs or cats for exaggerated or excessive physical traits that create significant health risks will be banned.
Mutilating dogs and cats for shows, exhibitions or competitions will be prohibited, along with tethering an animal to an object except when necessary for medical treatment.
The use of prong and choke collars without built-in safety mechanisms will also be prohibited.
The rules will cover imports for sale as well as some non-commercial movements, to address cases where animals enter as pets and are later sold.
Dogs and cats imported from non-EU countries for sale will need to be microchipped before entering the EU and then registered in a national database.
Pet owners entering the EU will have to pre-register their microchipped animal in a database at least five working days before arrival, unless it is already registered in an EU country’s database.
The legislation now requires adoption by the Council before it can enter into force.
About 44% of EU citizens have a pet and 74% believe their welfare should be better protected, according to figures cited by the European Parliament.
