The German Animal Welfare Federation fears that cats could lose out in a European legislative proposal for the protection of cats and dogs. The previously planned identification and registration requirement for cats is apparently to be removed from the “Cats and Dogs Proposal”. Members of the European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development will vote on this draft legislation on May 14.
“If all cats had to be identified with a transponder with a microchip and registered in a pet register such as FINDEFIX, the illegal pet trade would be made more difficult,” explains Dr. Romy Zeller, specialist for pets at the German Animal Welfare Federation. “Cat owners whose animal has escaped could reunite with it more quickly because the animal shelter or a vet can easily identify the cat through identification and registration. If found animals spend less time at the animal shelter, this would relieve the already overcrowded shelters and save money for the responsible local authorities. In addition, fewer cats would be abandoned as the authorities could easily identify the owner. If fewer cats are abandoned or left behind, this would also reduce the number of stray cats, millions of which live and suffer in secret in Germany.”
However, if cats are no longer included in the identification and registration requirement in the European draft law, this would be highly problematic for animal welfare - especially as cats are the most commonly kept pets in Germany with 15.9 million animals and German animal shelters are struggling with overcrowding due to cats and orphaned kittens from street cats. “The opportunity to protect cats and dogs for the first time through separate legislation at EU level must be seized. The Cats and Dogs Proposal is essential and must apply to all cats and dogs,” said Zeller. This is particularly crucial in view of the failed amendment to the German Animal Welfare Act, which has set back animal welfare in Germany. Possible exemptions from the planned identification and registration requirement, which are also being considered for hunting and service dogs as well as for animals kept on farms, are incomprehensible, according to the German Animal Welfare Federation.
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