The EU Dog & Cat Alliance has held an event today, in order to urge the EU to take action based on the findings of the recently published ‘Study on the welfare of dogs and cats involved in commercial practices’.
The Alliance is made from almost 60 different organisations from over 20 member states.
The study, commissioned by the European Commission, provides evidence as to why the EU legislation on the breeding and trade of dogs and cats is paramount to not only improving companion animal welfare in Europe, but to also safeguarding public health, consumer protection and the EU internal market.
The event, hosted by Daniel Dalton MEP, aimed to build on the study’s findings and gather support from MEPs to propose an EU Action Plan calling for more robust and better-implemented EU-wide legislation, including compulsory identification and registration of dogs and cats on a database linked to an EU-wide database, compulsory licensing of dog and cat breeders, tighter controls on the internet trade of dogs and cats and concrete action to prevent the spread of zoonoses and improve consumer protection when buying a pet.
Paula Boyden, Dogs Trust veterinary director and spokesperson for the EU Dog & Cat Alliance explained: “Thousands of puppies and kittens bred for illegal sale in the EU endure horrendous breeding and transport conditions often resulting in severe, chronic health problems.
“The Alliance is calling for an EU Action Plan to tackle this illegal trade, with three main priorities: consumer protection, public and animal health, and animal welfare. All three are imperative to the protection of the internal market.
“Compulsory database would be another vital tool which would facilitate the exchange of basic information such as the age of the animal, microchip number and country of origin to allow traceability. This would help prevent the suffering of these animals and address issues related to consumer protection.”
