Companion Animals: Questions and Answers on the New Framework

Referred to the Council of State at the suggestion of the Prime Minister Mr Mitsotakis the plan Presidential Decree on the transfer of responsibility for companion animals from the Ministry of Rural Development and Food to the Ministry of the Interior.

The Decree, immediately after the opinion of the CoE, will be forwarded for signature by the President of the Republic.

It is time for Greece to take brave steps forward in protecting our little friends: taking care of stray animals, strengthening adoption, protecting them from abuse, ensuring their welfare. These are some of the many objectives of the new Pet Animals Law. pic.twitter.com/dY2908qEaJ

— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) May 7, 2021

The Pet Animals Bill

As part of the government's election pledge of «no stray animal, no abused animal», the bill aims to create an institutional framework for pets and stray animals, harmonised with modern conditions and capabilities. The framework introduced, aims to improve the living conditions of companion animals and the protection of stray animals, through the cooperation of the State, local authorities, scientists and animal welfare organisations.

With the bill, deserted and stray animals for adoption, animal welfare associations and organizations, veterinarians, breeders, shelters and the Public Administration, for the first time, are part of a single formal platform for cooperation. Furthermore, an integrated stray animal management programme shall be established at the level of municipalities, as well as a coherent and representative oversight framework to ensure that the implementation of the new law on the protection of companion animals does not remain an empty letter. Also, extends the list of acts explicitly included in the animal cruelty provision, introduces fines for new infringements, and tightens existing fines for major infringements.

Finally, educational programmes and awareness-raising activities are foreseen to improve the education and information of those involved in the effort to protect companion animals.

The content of the bill is developed along 10 axes:

1. The «Five Animal Freedoms»: the 5 internationally recognised animal freedoms are now explicitly included in the law (Freedom from hunger and thirst. Freedom from unnecessary suffering and stress. Freedom from pain, injury and disease. Freedom from fear and distress. Freedom to express normal behaviour, with appropriate living and socialisation conditions).
2. Greece acquires a National Register of Companion Animals: Foster and stray animals, animals for adoption, animal welfare associations and organizations, veterinarians, breeders, shelters and the Public Administration, for the first time, join a single official platform for cooperation.
3. Electronic booklet & digital medical history of the animal: Companion animals obtain a digital health record through the National Pet Animal Registry.
4. Breeding with rules: regulating issues concerning the maximum number of litters per animal, the authorisation for breeding, etc.
5. It expands the list of acts explicitly included in the abuse provision, introduces fines for new offences and tightens existing fines for major offences.
6. «Argos» programme - resources and obligations of municipalities: integrated stray animal management programme by each municipality. At the same time, the necessary resources and procedures are ensured for the successful implementation of the programme.
7. Support and incentives for citizen pet owners: Establish incentives by municipalities to encourage citizen-owners to take better care of their pets, such as reducing municipal fees up to 10% for diligent owners.
8. Supervisory Framework: A coherent and representative oversight framework is established, with the participation of representatives of the KEDE, the Ombudsman and Animal Welfare Organisations.
9. Improving education and information on the protection of companion animals: training programmes and awareness-raising activities in local and educational communities.
10. National Complaints Line: Development of a digital application and a 5-digit number to report incidents of animal abuse and any violation of the legal framework for the protection of companion animals.

18 questions and answers on the Pet Animals Bill

1. Why is the new draft law being consulted important? What exactly is it about?;

The S/N which is put to public consultation aims to radically redesign the management philosophy of stray and companion animals. The aim is to create a comprehensive programme for the management of stray pets (mainly dogs and cats) which will lead to a reduction in their population through a new effective system of adoption and the application of sterilisation to the entire population. At the same time, it introduces a comprehensive framework for the responsible management of companion animals in order to ensure their welfare and harmonious coexistence with the environment.

According to statistics, almost one in two households in Greece have at least one pet. This fact alone makes it clear how many of our fellow citizens are affected by the bill. At the same time, our country has, unfortunately, one of the largest populations of stray animals both in the urban area and in the periphery.

2. What exactly are pet animals and what is not regulated by the Bill?;

The draft law concerns pet animals. According to European regulation 2016/429, dogs, cats, ornamental aquatic animals (aquarium species, such as goldfish), rodents and rabbits and birds not intended for food production (e.g. hamsters, guinea pigs, canaries, parrots) are considered as pet animals.

Excludes, but is not limited to, hens, turkeys, ducks, geese, pigeons and equidae.

Therefore, the responsibilities for other animals (and obviously for productive animals) and their management remain with the Ministry of Rural Development.

3. Why is the Ministry of Interior responsible? And why was the responsibility transferred from the Ministry of Rural Development and Food?;

As the bill clearly indicates, the municipalities of the country have a central role in the management of the stray and stray animal program. For this reason, the Ministry of Interior, as responsible for local government, assumes a central role and responsibility for companion animals in order to achieve better coordination.

However, horizontal policies concerning animal health issues (whether companion animals or not) and the protection of public health from zoonoses remain within the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, which is fully in line with both European regulations and international practice.

In essence, a new authority is needed which will resolve the problems that have been created and, above all, create a new environment for the continuous evaluation of the pet programme.

At the same time it is stressed that immediately launched through AΣEP recruitment of new scientists in the Ministry of Interior, who will be exclusively engaged in the issues of companion animals.

4. Reading the law, there seem to be many registers and many procedures. Does this create bureaucracy and ultimately be to the detriment of pets?;

Instead, new technologies are fully exploited for the benefit of companion animals. And this applies to both companion animals and stray animals. A new complete information system is being created: The National Register of Companion Animals (NRCA). The NRCA includes:

• Register of Registration and Monitoring of Pet Animals. It is essentially an evolution of the existing database maintained by the Ministry of Rural Development and Food. It contains all deserted and stray dogs and cats, together with the details of their owner-guardian. In addition, the register will also record the medical and clinical data of dogs and cats so that they can be immediately accessible both by the owner and by any veterinarian throughout the country if there is a need.
• Register of Animal Welfare Associations and Organizations. All recognized and legally operating animal welfare associations are registered in this register so that there is a clear public image of animal welfare associations, their contact details and the work they carry out in cooperation with municipalities. Registration in this register is a prerequisite for participation in the neuter management and adoption programmes.
• Shelters Register in which all legally operating shelters for dogs and cats in the country are registered. It records their exact location, contact details, the person in charge of their management, and the hours of visits by the public. Shelters may be operated by municipalities, associations of municipalities, registered animal welfare associations and private animal lovers.
• Register of Breeders. For the first time, a complete record of legally operating breeders is being kept so that this public information is available to anyone who wants to buy a pet from a breeder, putting an end to the illegal pet trade.
• Panhellenic platform for the adoption of stray pets. Perhaps the most important registry. In it, anyone who wants to adopt a stray dog or cat can choose any one they want from a legally operating shelter. In this way, the adoption process is made easier and a stray cat or dog can find a welcoming family.
• Platform for voluntary pet blood donation. Many times a dog or cat is in need of blood in order to deal with a serious health problem. Always based on the principles of veterinary science, this register is created in which pet owners who voluntarily wish to donate blood are registered.

In a very short time, we will know in real time the number of deserted and stray pets, the number of homeless animals managed by each municipality, the number of animals up for adoption and the health history of each animal.

5. And who has access to the National Register of Companion Animals?;

All those needed for the success of the bill: From the municipalities and the veterinary services of the regions, the competent ministries (Interior, Rural Development and Food, Civil Protection, Maritime and Island Policy), the country's veterinarians to the owners of companion animals for the animals they own.

This facilitates the control mechanisms and achieves continuous improvement of the policies in place, as all aggregated data are available to those responsible to the extent necessary.

6. Let's start with stray dogs and cats. How will they be managed?;

The draft law introduces a number of important innovations and achieves a streamlining of procedures in order to achieve a holistic management of stray dogs and cats. In particular:

• Municipalities are required for the first time to have a full operational plan for the management of stray pets including the provision of veterinary care, participation in the adoption platform and the creation of a framework of incentives for animal welfare. At the same time, they are required to operate or have a contract with a legally operating shelter to house pets.
• It is confirmed that municipalities are responsible for the registration, marking and sterilisation of all stray animals within their boundaries.
• Through the new «Argos» programme, the provision of the necessary equipment (such as stray collection vehicles) and the coverage of the cost of marking and neutering of stray animals is funded.

7. But today many municipalities have failed in management. How can they now be consistent with their obligations?;

This is precisely one of the issues that this draft law resolves. It also provides the necessary resources, facilitates the creation of new modern infrastructure and streamlines procedures so that no municipality has an excuse to implement a comprehensive policy for companion animals. At the same time, performance indicators are introduced for the first time and are publicly posted so that there is the necessary accountability for the effectiveness of the programme and the management of public money.

In addition, for the first time the Ministry of Interior can impose severe (and financial) penalties on municipalities that do not implement effective pet management.

8. Do animal welfare organisations and animal loving individuals have a role in this new programme or is their contribution excluded?;

Just the opposite is true. Animal welfare organisations (which are registered in the relevant register) can cooperate with municipalities within the philosophy of the new law and mark and sterilize stray animals at municipal contracted veterinarians, if they wish to do so without any financial burden for them. Alternatively (including private animal lovers), they can also go to vets of their choice if they want to cover the cost themselves, even without an agreement with the municipality concerned. In fact, for the first time, they are explicitly given the option to collect and care for stray pets themselves as their temporary owners, shielding their role and work. At the same time, they can participate in the national adoption platform, posting ads for the adoption of stray pets. Similarly, private animal lovers can also benefit from municipal programmes for the sterilisation and marking of stray pets, while their right to care for stray animals is explicitly provided for, and they can become immediate fosterers and subsequently owners, if they so wish, following a simple and clear procedure.

In addition, the possibility for municipalities to provide feed and medicines to animal welfare associations with which they cooperate is explicitly established, while for the first time, legally operating animal welfare associations can be beneficiaries of financial support from the municipality or the region, as is the case for other associations (sports, cultural, etc.).

9. From time to time, images of shelters have been published in the press and on social media, which are very cruel and do not fit the philosophy of the new law. How will the new law help to eliminate these images?;

This is precisely the image that does not honour our culture. Additional operating rules are now being introduced, which both municipal and non-municipal shelters must comply with. Each shelter obviously retains the obligation to have adequate facilities and a contracted veterinarian, and must have the necessary staff to clean and care for the animals, with at least a 14-hour daily presence. Mandatory visiting hours are set for the shelters, both weekdays and weekends, so that they are accessible to all, as well as the obligation to maintain an up-to-date website with all the information on the animals housed in them. At the same time, the register of shelters ensures transparency and accountability of all (including municipalities) who operate shelters.

10. If a stray animal (e.g. a cat) is found on the street, can an animal lover keep it temporarily or permanently? What exactly is the institution of the fosterer?;

Of course, he can keep it either temporarily (as a foster carer) or permanently (as an owner after adoption), but first informing the EMZS through his municipality or the animal welfare organisation or the veterinarian contracted with them. He can also be appointed as a foster carer of an animal in a shelter and take care of it until its adoption. The fosterer is an important innovation of the new law which aims to improve the welfare of the pet animal until its adoption. It should be noted that fosterers are also entitled to the provision of feed and medication by municipalities.

11. And what about companion animals? Do we all have to spay and neuter them? Even the dog, which is in a controlled area?;

It has been found that a large number of stray animals come from unwanted (mainly) litters of desert animals. It is the duty of the owner-guardian of a stray animal to ensure that it is marked and sterilised. However, the bill provides for an almost two-year transitional period for the start of compulsory sterilisation and a further year for administrative sanctions in case of failure to do so. At the same time, the Minister of the Interior is given the possibility, depending on the progress of the programme, to postpone these dates, to exempt certain categories of pet animals depending on their specific characteristics or to establish a maximum number of births per pet animal.

This is practically done in order to complete in the near future all the sterilizations of stray animals, to implement the new philosophy of the law (tightening up on abandonment or abuse) and to evaluate it on a regular basis by the special monitoring committee.

12. Has the government finally backed down on mandatory sterilization?;

No, what the government has done and is doing is to put forward the new philosophy of the law, so that the necessary infrastructure and procedures are completed in the short term and in the medium term the evaluation of its progress is done.

It should be noted that for the first time municipalities can give incentives for sterilisation, which can be a reduction in household fees for consistent animal owners and the provision of vouchers for sterilisation to vulnerable social groups.

13. Do adoptions within and outside Greece legalize the «illegal trade in animals» as some claim?;

The Panhellenic Platform for the Adoption of Stray Companion Animals ensures full transparency. It is explicitly stated that for adoptions other than the costs of food and medical coverage (and this if the municipality or the animal welfare organisation wishes), the payment of any fee is prohibited.

Especially for adoptions abroad, EU legislation explicitly defines the obligations of each Member State (Regulation 2016/429 - Part VI with effect from 21.4.2021). The procedures established ensure that our country complies with them.

Finally, the establishment of the register of breeders is important, where professional breeders are registered, excluding those who engage in illegal pet trade, and the sale and display of dogs and cats in pet shops is now prohibited.

14. What are the penalties for leaving a newborn pet in a rubbish bin or killing an animal?;

The new draft law, on the one hand, clarifies the definition of animal cruelty, detailing typical cases, for the avoidance of doubt, and, on the other hand, expands it, as abandonment of newborn animals is now considered cruelty and punishable as a felony. In particular, Article 16 provides that the killing and torture of animals, by deliberately causing severe physical pain or physical exhaustion dangerous to their health, in particular by poisoning, strangulation, hanging, drowning/drowning, causing burns, heatstroke, electrocution, frostbite, crushing, amputation (non-therapeutic), shooting (causing trauma and/or death of an animal), intentional injury (severe, dangerous bodily harm), animal fighting, bestiality, sexual abuse of an animal using objects for the sadistic pleasure of the offender and abandonment of newborn animals are serious felony offences and carry, in addition to criminal penalties, severe administrative penalties. Besides, this government has made murder and torture of animals a felony (Law 4745/2020). The threatened penalties for killing, but also for abandoning newborn animals, are therefore imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine of up to 50,000 euros, while an administrative sanction, i.e. a fine of 30,00 to 50,000 euros per animal and per incident, is also provided for.

In addition, the abuse and cruel treatment of any kind of animal, such as drastic restriction of its normal movement, unauthorized training methods, work not intended for the species, unlawful breeding, intentional injury by simple bodily harm, are considered abuse and are punishable, as is abandonment, by imprisonment from 1 to 5 years and a fine of up to 18.000, while an administrative fine of between EUR 5 000 and EUR 15 000 is also provided for.

At the same time, in order to reduce the phenomenon of abandonment of pets, a special procedure is established for any owner who wants to surrender his pet, with mandatory prior posting of an advertisement on the Panhellenic Platform for the Adoption of Stray Animals, in cooperation with the relevant Municipality.

15. And how can someone who abandons their animal be traced?;

In addition to the investigation of the offence by the control mechanisms, the National Register of Companion Animals foresees that as soon as the relevant technology is available and affordable, it will be possible to identify abandoned animals by genetic material from abandoned animals and cross-referencing them with the corresponding material from female breeders.

16. What about the ones who put the murder weapon in? What are the penalties?;

The poisoning of the animal is included in the felony offences and carries a penalty of imprisonment of up to ten (10) years and a fine of up to 50,000 euros, while at the same time, it also carries an administrative sanction, i.e. a fine of 30,000 to 50,000 euros per animal and incident.

17. What exactly is the register of offenders?;

The seriousness with which we deal with animal cruelty is not limited to tightening sanctions. We are introducing another safeguard to keep people who are demonstrably dangerous away from animals. The register of offenders. Anyone who has been convicted by the courts of pet abuse cannot be designated as a pet owner or fosterer for a period of at least ten (10) years. In addition, for the same period of time, he or she may not be employed, either voluntarily or for compensation, in an animal-related field.

18. What other innovations are there in the bill?;

Some additional innovations introduced by this bill, which are intended to help strengthen our animal welfare culture and improve animal welfare, are:

• The Ombudsman can explicitly take action on animal rights (and of course pet animals)
• Training of security forces on animal welfare and animal welfare
• A dedicated line and application to receive complaints of animal cruelty. These complaints are brought to the attention of the control authorities.
• Explicit provision for the establishment and operation of fenced dog parks by municipalities
• Provision for the operation of cemeteries and dog cemeteries by municipalities as well