Overview
- Parliament and member-state negotiators in Strasbourg agreed on a draft regulation that still requires formal approval by the European Parliament and EU governments.
- All dogs and cats in the EU would have to be microchipped and registered, with transition periods of 10 years for dogs and 15 years for cats.
- The rules set EU-wide minimum standards for breeders, sellers and shelters, including requirements on housing, exercise and the age at which animals may be bred.
- The package restricts extreme breeding and bans mating pets with wild animals, while curbing inbreeding and painful amputations except for medical reasons.
- Online animal sales face tighter controls as advertisers must be clearly identifiable, a measure intended to disrupt cross-border illegal trade in a market worth an estimated €1.3 billion annually.