Everybody proclaims to love their fur babies. But are really enough rules in place to make sure that Spot and Puss are being treated well by their breeders, sellers and owners? The European Parliament has taken a further step in that direction.

Demand for furry companions such as cats and dogs has been rising across the European Union, with the Covid-19 pandemic providing the latest uptick. However, animal welfare standards vary across the EU's 27 member states, and there are concerns about growing illegal pet trade.

According to EU data from 2021, EU citizens owned over 72 million dogs and more than 83 million cats. A Eurobarometer survey in 2023 found that 44 percent of Europeans owned a pet or companion animal. The cat and dog trade alone is worth around 1.3 billion Euro annually.

In that Eurobarometer survey 74 percent of respondents also said the welfare of pets should be better protected than it is now.

When it comes to putting their money where their mouth is, EU citizens however seem very willing to get their pets on the cheap, despite the risks this poses. 'Sub-standard breeding and illegal trade results in important problems for the welfare, including the health, for the dogs and cats concerned, and the well-being of the prospective pet owner,' the European Commission said in its initial 2023 proposal on the welfare of cats and dogs and their traceability.

Many animals are bought and sold online. According to the Commission, the online market - which includes illegal sales - accounts for about 60 percent. At any time some 438,000 dogs and 80,000 cats are offered in the EU, making fraud difficult to detect.

Inconsistent legislation among EU countries creates loopholes that are ruthlessly exploited by illegal trading networks: According to animal welfare organisation Four Paws, the origin of 79 percent of the dogs for sale across Europe cannot be traced to any verifiable or legal sources.

The president of the Croatian Veterinary Association, Lea Kreszinger, said that recommendations to purchase dogs from shelters for abandoned animals and from registered breeders are not heeded. Many purchase pets through online ads because of the lower prices, and many puppies purchased in this way have serious health problems.

Who let the dogs out?

The Commission's proposal has wound its way through the EU institutions. The EU Council, which represents the EU member states, agreed on a common position in June 2024.

Last week the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee adopted its position on standards for the breeding, housing and handling of cats and dogs with 35 votes against two with 9 abstentions.

The aim is to improve traceability and transparency, particularly in online purchases of cats and dogs. The proposal includes mandatory identification and registration for traded dogs and cats.

It also intends to regulate how close animals can be related to be allowed to be bred, how long young animals must stay with their mothers and how often females can be bred.

The legislative proposal will now be put to a vote at the plenary session of the European Parliament, most likely in June or July. If the position is adopted by the entire European Parliament, negotiations with the EU member states and the Commission can begin.

Animal welfare vs. red tape

The proposal received mixed reactions, with some praising the limited administrative impact it will have on breeders and sellers while others criticised it for not going far enough to combat illegal animal trade.

'This proposal is a clear move against illegal breeding and the irresponsible importation of animals from outside the EU. At the same time, it fully respects ordinary owners and responsible breeders who should not be unduly burdened by regulations,' Czech MEP and rapporteur Veronika Vrecionová said.

Croatia's Veterinary Association had urged the country's MEPs to support the regulation. Tatjana Zajec, the president of the association's ethics department, said there was a lot of money on the black market for dogs, especially when it came to popular breeds. Illegal breeders exploit female dogs by breeding them frequently, and they separate puppies from their mothers too early and sell them sick, often with genetic defects. 'When female dogs can no longer give birth, they are abandoned or left to die,' Zajec warned.

The committee's proposed rule covers those who breed or sell the animals - but do not apply to private dog and cat owners. Several member states lobbied for this exclusion. According to the Czech Republic, there was a need to clearly define the boundaries between hobby animal breeding and breeding for economic purposes.

Austrian conservative MEP Alexander Bernhuber said: 'We have prevented unnecessary detailed regulations from complicating the daily lives of our dog and cat owners,' adding that it was a 'great success' that farm cats were also excluded from the regulations. 'This saves many owners unnecessary costs and bureaucratic effort.'

His countryman and Green MEP Thomas Waitz on the other hand slammed the dilutions in the text. 'Illegal animal trade will only be timidly stopped this way.'

Microchipping

According to the proposal, all dogs and cats held by breeders, sellers and shelters, or offered for sale or donation online, must be individually identifiable with a microchip. Microchipped dogs and cats should be registered in national databases and the information should also be stored in an EU-wide database operated by the Commission, the MEPs said. The parliamentarians also want to extend those rules to cover animals entering the EU from third countries.

Microchipping rules already exist in several EU member states, but implementation is patchy.

Spain's model for tracking pets that is connected to the databases of the autonomous communities, is so effective that the Commission regarded it as a model for its own plans. Microchipping is mandatory and through the Spanish Pet Identification Network (REIAC), in Spain it is possible to locate a lost animal also anywhere outside than the place where it is registered.

The country's Law on the Protection of Animal Rights and Welfare prohibits the sale of pets in shops, unless it is done directly through registered breeders, and requires that animals do not leave the breeding facility until they have a definitive adopter or buyer.

German dogs must be microchipped only in some of the country's 16 federal states. For cats there is even more variation - some municipalities demand that outdoor cats must be chipped. The only overarching rule is that a dog or cat must have a microchip if it is moved across EU borders.

Only half of the approximately 17 million domestic cats in France are identified either by microchip or tattoo, despite this marking being mandatory, as it is in place for dogs and even for pet ferrets. 'We still have an identification rate that is really too low' for cats, lamented Cécile Gardino, a veterinarian and head of data analysis for Ingenium Animalis, which manages a national database for the identification of domestic carnivores (I-CAD).

Owning an unregistered dog or cat born after January 1, 2012, can result in a fine of 750 Euro. 'We are [at] around 50 percent of identified cats, so there is still significant room for improvement.' By comparison, 'it is estimated that 90 percent of dogs are identified in France', she emphasised. Some 76 percent of reported lost animals were cats, she added.

The I-CAD database - presented as the largest database on this topic at the European level - allows for the general population of cats, dogs, and ferrets in France to be recorded, ensures health monitoring, and combats trafficking, theft, and abandonment.

Implementation remains key to combating all forms of animal abuse.

In Bulgaria for example, between 2019 and 2024, 318 people have been brought to trial for violence against animals, prosecutors said. Only nine individuals were sentenced to effective imprisonment, 274 received suspended sentences, probation or fines.

At a conference on the topic of animal abuse in Sofia in May, EU Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare Olivér Várhelyi said that the first EU rules on this topic were adopted 50 years ago. He noted that animal welfare can be improved significantly by applying current standards correctly.

Whether the EU's latest move forward will result in effective measures remains to be seen over the course of the negotiations in Brussels.

The content of this article is based on reporting by AFP, APA, BTA, CTK, dpa, EFE, HINA, as part of the European Newsroom (enr) project. AGERPRES (editing by: Simona Klodnischi)