New rules for dogs and cats, the European Union proposal for breeding and sale

The European Commission has published a report on the illegal trade of dogs and cats, a constantly growing phenomenon in EU countries and not yet controlled in a homogeneous way and above all with adequate severity.
For this reason, the Commission has proposed a new regulation on the traceability of sales, with more targeted controls and ad hoc fines.
The fight against illegal pet trade is essential to preserve the health and well-being of dogs and cats, but also to eliminate unfair competition with breeders and traders who act within the law.
Of course, the regulation also serves the fiscal regulation of trade, but it is also necessary to protect citizens.
First of all, the lack of controls and the conditions in which animals are kept and transported exponentially increase the spread of diseases that are contagious to other animals and humans, thus creating a danger to public health.
Furthermore, we must also consider how the failure to report health and behavioral problems hinders correct management by human owners, increasing the costs of dealing with them.
read also What are the dangerous dogs in Italy, all the bans New rules for dogs and cats The aims pursued by the European Commission focus on the protection of animals in the breeding and sales phases, with hypotheses of rules relegated to respect for dogs and cats in their needs in every aspect of life.
Before delving into the content proposed by the Commission, please remember that at the moment it is just this: a proposal, not yet transformed into an EU Regulation.
Among the measures on animal welfare, the most important concern: Obligation of minimum spaces on farms; ban on using cages; obligation to guarantee access to natural light and outdoor areas; limits on temperatures; requirements on foods to be fed to animals, in line with their needs; limits on reproduction, which include minimum age and frequency limits; prohibition of inbreeding in reproduction; prohibition of painful mutilations, except as necessary for veterinary reasons.
In addition to welfare, the Commission wants to guarantee the traceability of animals from breeding to sale, with an indisputable advantage for owners who will be able to purchase animals in complete transparency and then be able to look after them in the best possible way.
In particular, the following rules are envisaged: Authorization by the authorities mandatory for breeding establishments; microchip mandatory for each specimen; registration of animals in a national database communicating with that of each EU member state.
The objective is to allow buyers to easily trace the origin of the animals, with the natural consequence in terms of monitoring breeding, trade and also movements, including imports from non-EU countries.
Who will have to respect the new rules The new rules on the breeding and trade of dogs and cats established by the European Commission are aimed at breeders, sellers, specialized shops and shelters.
Only those who have a very limited number of animals are exempt, but they will still have to comply with the microchip requirement before transferring the animals to other people, unless it is an occasional supply which does not take place via online means.
read also How to sell a dog legally The fines for illegal trade The illegal trade of dogs and cats (which represent more than 90% of pets owned by European citizens) harms the well-being of animals, deprived of the living conditions and care they need , and then consequently also that of human beings.
The lack of traceability prevents compliance with appropriate safety standards, both in import trade (in countries such as Belarus, Russia, Serbia and Turkey, animal welfare standards are much lower) and in illegal structures within the EU territory.
Online sales means only further hinder controls, also because false vaccination certificates are often used and routes are fraudulently classified as "non-commercial" to evade controls.
The lack of a common regulation (except for the rules dedicated to particular cases), the light fines applied by individual states are evidently insufficient as a deterrent and the data on illegal trafficking confirm this, for this reason Europe considers it urgent to provide more sanctions severe.
In this regard, the EU Commission report is attached with all the useful data.