Overview
- Parliament, Council and Commission negotiators struck a provisional agreement in Strasbourg to create an EU-wide regime for dogs and cats.
- All dogs and cats must be microchipped and registered, with transition periods reported as 10 years for dogs and 15 years for cats.
- The regulation sets EU-wide minimum standards for breeders, sellers and shelters, including requirements on hygiene, space, exercise, nutrition and breeding age.
- Online animal sales will face tighter controls, with platforms required to ensure sellers are clearly identifiable to improve traceability.
- Breeding and practices that harm animal health will be restricted, including limits on inbreeding, bans on painful mutilations and wild–domestic pairings, and curbs on extreme traits, with medical exceptions allowed.