NEWSLETTER CONCERNING OWNERS OF COMPANION ANIMALS AND RELATED TO LAW 4830/18-9-2021

Our Service wants to inform all pet owners about the new Law on «New framework for the welfare of pets - Program «ARGOS» and other provisions» lists the articles included in it and also makes some remarks about the obligations of owners to ensure the welfare of pets and avoid complaints and fines.

1-According to par. 9 of article 46 of Law 4830/2021 (A΄169) ,as added by article 53 of Law 4940/2022 (A΄112) «the obligation of the owner to sterilize the pet animal or to send a sample of its genetic material (DNA), according to para. (a) of par. 1 of Article 9, shall commence after 2 months from the date of the opening of the FACS in accordance with Article 13 and in any case not later than 1^η.12.2022. The fines of Article 35 for breach of the above obligation shall be imposed after 6 months from the start of operation of the NFCS and in any case no later than 1^η.4.2023» .
2-According to paragraph 4 of Article 8 of the same law «owners of dogs or cats may breed the pet animal once in its lifetime. For this reason they receive prior authorisation from the Commission of par. 8 of Article 10, which they must also inform about the course of the birth, in particular, as regards the care and general care of newborns.»
3-According to par. 2 Article 46 of the same law «Until the launch of the EMZS, the marking and registration of dogs and cats will continue to be carried out on the online database of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food. Owners of dogs and cats who have already marked or are about to mark their pets on the existing database may, within a period of six (6) months from the start of operation of the EMZS, to complete their data on the basis of Article 4. During the same period of time, deletions of already registered entries can be made by the owners of animals, if they are no longer owned or are no longer alive.»
4-According to par. 18 Article 4 of the same law as added by Article 167 of Law 4964/2022 (A΄150) «The Directorate of Electronic Governance of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food assists the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food. of the Ministry of Digital Governance in all matters necessary for the implementation of the EEZS and cooperates in the transfer of data from the existing «Online Electronic Database» containing the identification codes, the data of owners and pet animals recorded from the date of the assignment of the maintenance of the «Online Electronic Database» until the date of its delivery to the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Digital Governance. The following new fields are added to the existing «Online Electronic Database» of the eGovernment Directorate of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food: «sample of genetic material» and «sponsor».
Following this information, all pet owners are requested to follow their obligations as they arise from this law.