Mandatory microchipping for all dogs and cats in the European Union and a ban on sales in pet shops . The European Parliament, meeting in plenary session in Strasbourg, confirmed its position on the EU Commission's proposal to strengthen the protection of pets with 457 votes in favour, 17 against and 86 abstentions.
MEPs are calling for all dogs and cats to be individually identifiable by microchips, registered in national databases that are interoperable at EU level . The identification numbers, together with the reference database information, should be brought together in a single index database managed by the European Commission .
Other measures proposed include a ban on keeping or selling dogs and cats in pet shops and mandatory registration for animals arriving from third countries, both for commercial and non-commercial purposes. Under the rules, dogs and cats will have to be microchipped before entering the EU and then registered in a national database. Owners will also have to pre-register their pet online at least five working days before arrival in the EU.
Particular attention is also paid to animal breeding, with proposals to improve animal welfare. Among the bans, the most notable are the ban on mating between blood relatives (parents-children, grandparents-grandchildren, siblings) and the ban on breeding animals with extreme morphological characteristics that drastically impact their quality of life. The EU crackdown also concerns animal mutilation and the use of spike or choke collars without safety devices. With the approval of its position, the European Parliament now opens the way to negotiations with Member States to reach a final agreement on the legislation.
(Unioneonline/vf)
