Overwegingen bij COM(2023)769 - Welzijn van honden en katten en hun traceerbaarheid - Hoofdinhoud
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| dossier | COM(2023)769 - Welzijn van honden en katten en hun traceerbaarheid. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2023)769  |
| datum | 7 december 2023 |
(2)The absence of Union welfare provisions on breeding, keeping and placing on the market of dogs and cats, as well as divergent national rules where they exist, have very often led to those animals being born, bred and sold or adopted at no cost, in circumstances detrimental to their welfare. Competition between commercial breeders of dogs and cats in different Member States is not conducted on a level playing field because animal welfare conditions are one of the main elements of the competitiveness of these operators and they differ considerably between Member States. As a consequence, competition is distorted, especially for high standards breeders and keepers, which are unable to monetise their investments into animal welfare when they trade cross border because they are confronted with operators that profit from sub-standard animal welfare conditions to exert competition and drive prices and standards down.
(3)Also, consumers are insufficiently protected as they are often confronted, when acquiring a dog or a cat, with the negative consequences of the poor welfare conditions in which the animals have been bred and kept in the establishments, such as health problems, behavioural problems or genetic defects of the dog or cat purchased or acquired.
(4)Therefore, minimum animal welfare requirements should be laid down for establishments that engage in breeding, keeping and placing on the market of dogs and cats. This will ensure the rational development of the sector, uniform conditions of competition, and consumer protection, while ensuring a high level of animal welfare.
(5)Over the past decade, the demand for dogs and cats to be kept as pet animals in households has increased significantly. As a result, there has been a substantial increase in breeding and trade on the Union market of dogs and cats, including sales, adoptions, and imports from third countries. The lack of requirements on the welfare of these animals in the Union, and the disparities between requirements applicable in different Member States have given rise to a significant amount of illegal trade in dogs and cats in conditions that are highly detrimental to their welfare.
(6)Illegal trade of dogs and cats has developed in part due to lack of traceability of these animals to the original litter. In turn, illegal trade practices are associated with suffering of dogs and cats subject to uncontrolled breeding practices. It is not possible to ensure that operators abide by the same standards of animal welfare, and to ensure uniform conditions of competition in the internal market in relation to the supplying of dogs and cats without reliable means to trace the animals to their origin. It is therefore crucial to ensure the traceability of dogs and cats by a system that identifies and registers dogs and cats before their first supplying in the Union as well as each time there is a change of ownership of the animals.
(7)Illegal trade in cats and dogs from outside the EU has been increasing. Current EU rules on the movements of dogs and cats into the EU, such as the provisions of Regulation 576/2013 and of the Animal Health Law, do not contain sufficient tools to prevent this illegal trade. This means that additional rules to fight illegal trade in dogs and cats are required. Existing animal health rules require that, both for commercial and non-commercial movement of dogs and cats entering into the Union, the animals must be identified with a microchip. To reinforce these traceability provisions, the owners of dogs and cats entering into the Union should ensure their registration in one of the Member States’ databases at the place of destination. This will provide for greater control on the movements of those animals.
(8)The traceability provisions of this proposal also contribute to the protection of public health via better animal welfare, better animal health, and better controls on the possible transmission of animal diseases (some of which being of zoonotic nature), this following a One Health approach.
(9)Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council 54 regulates transmissible animal diseases for the purpose of avoiding the spread of such diseases in the Union. The health of animals is one of the five domains of animal welfare, and thus addressed in this Regulation. However, this Regulation does not address the diseases listed in Regulation (EU) 2016/429, but rather the state of health of dogs and cats as shaped by non-communicable diseases (for example injuries) or non-listed diseases (for example certain parasites). The rules laid down in this Regulation are therefore complementary to Regulation (EU) 2016/429 and do not duplicate or overlap with the rules laid down in that Regulation.
(10)Regulation (EU) 2016/429 requires the identification of dogs and cats with a transponder but only if they are subject to movements between Member States entered into the Union. The identification required by that Regulation is not fully harmonised as it does not include precise standards regarding transponders. Furthermore, that Regulation does not require Member States to keep databases of dogs and cats. Therefore, Member States should be required to establish and maintain databases of dogs and cats supplied in the Union market to ensure the traceability of these animals. It is also necessary to ensure the interoperability of these databases. This will facilitate finding information on dogs and cats across the Union, as well as enable competent authorities to carry out official controls to ensure compliance with animal welfare rules.
(11)The supplying of dogs and cats, whether for profit or at no cost, has an impact on the internal market. Therefore, to prevent fraud, traceability of all animals traded in the Union market should be ensured and the keeping of animals in breeding establishments, pet shops or animal shelters should be subject to detailed rules.
(12)Keeping of dogs and cats on behalf of owners, such as pet boarding activities, is a temporary and local activity and does not have a significant impact on the internal market. It is therefore justified to exclude pet boarding activities from the requirements laid down in this Regulation for establishments keeping dogs and cats.
(13)Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 55 regulates the keeping, breeding and supply of animals kept for scientific purposes including dogs and cats. Dogs and cats intended for scientific purposes should therefore be excluded from the scope of application of this Regulation.
(14)A large number of dogs and cats will be covered by detailed welfare rules for the first time, which will allow them to benefit from better living conditions. However, considering the practical difficulties in certain cases to determine whether dogs and cats are kept as pets or for placing on the market or supply, this Regulation should exempt from certain obligations pet owners who keep a number of dogs and cats and produce a number of litters below a certain threshold. Otherwise, those pet owners would be subject to the relevant requirements of this Regulation, which would not be proportionate.
(15)Once the threshold for breeding activities referred to in the previous recital is reached, any premises used for the purpose of breeding animals are subject to the rules for breeding establishments laid down in Chapter II of this Regulation, even if the breeding activities take place in households, as this is often the case for different kinds of commercial breeders. Households where dogs and cats are kept for purposes other than reproduction are not considered as breeding establishments and do not have to comply with Chapter II of this Regulation.
(16)Although some of the breeding establishments are run by licensed breeders following good standard of animal management, an important part of animals placed on the Union market comes from grey market breeders and sub-standard breeders, that do not ensure sufficient level of animal welfare for the dogs and cats they breed. This creates unfair competition for pedigree breeders as well as non-pedigree breeders following high standards of animal welfare. It is therefore necessary to establish detailed animal welfare rules for the operators of all breeding establishments.
(17)Moreover, in the Union market different types of operators carrying out different types of activities supply dogs and cats. Aside from commercial breeders there are pet shops where dogs and cats, that are typically born and bred in other establishments, are kept for sale. The protection of these animals may be suboptimal, and there are no common welfare standards that need to be observed in these establishments. Given that pet shops are commercial operators that place on the market dogs and cats, it is therefore necessary to apply the requirements of this Regulation to these establishments.
(18)Animal shelters are private or public undertakings or non-for-profit organisations that collect and keep stray dogs and cats, or formerly owned animals that have been lost, confiscated or abandoned. Sometimes, uncontrolled pet reproduction or overbreeding result in the proliferation of stray dogs and cats that end up in shelters. Depending on their background, shelter animals may be purebred or mixed breeds and may include the litter of animals that have reproduced in the shelter. Shelters may keep large numbers of animals and sell them or offer them in adoption or for re-homing, sometimes for free or upon payment of the reasonable costs incurred.
(19)Despite the differences in the activities carried out by commercial breeders and pet shops, on the one hand, and animal shelters, on the other, they all supply dogs and cats in the Union market and there is a certain amount of overlap, especially at the level of the demand. When looking for a dog or cat, consumers make choices between buying an animal from a breeder (either directly or through a pet shop or intermediary), or adopting one from a shelter. The acquisition of dogs or cats directly from pet owners is marginal. One important factor in the choice of a dog or a cat is the possible behavioural or other problems that the animal may exhibit because of having been kept in poor welfare conditions and which may reduce their suitability to be kept as a pet animal, irrespective of whether the animal has been kept in a commercial breeding establishment, in a pet shop or in a shelter. Moreover, given that trade is also conducted by intermediaries and mostly online, consumers may not be aware before they acquire a dog or a cat of whether the animal originates from a shelter, a breeder or a pet shop. There is evidence that the number of animals supplied to the Union market by shelters is significant, in particular for cats. There is also evidence that animals are supplied from shelters in some Member States to prospective pet owners in other Member States, in particular for dogs. In order to ensure the achievement of the objective of this Regulation to ensure the smooth functioning of the internal market in dogs and cats, and the rational development of the sector while ensuring a high level of animal welfare, it is necessary to apply some of the requirements of this Regulation to shelters that keep a certain minimum number of animals, irrespective of whether they sell animals against payment or only supply animals for free or upon reimbursement of reasonable costs. However, for reasons of proportionality and given that the activities of shelters differ from those of other operators and may fulfil a public interest function, only some of the requirements of this Regulation should apply to shelters, concerning, in particular the number and competence of animal caretakers, housing, feeding and watering, behavioural needs and painful practices, and advisory visits by a veterinarian.
(20)In addition, given the significant numbers of animals supplied in the Union by shelters, and the need to ensure the achievement of the objectives of this Regulation regarding traceability and prevention of illegal trade, shelters should also be subject to the requirements of this Regulation concerning identification and registration of dogs and cats, regardless of whether or not their activity can be considered economic in nature.
(21)Since this Regulation set out animal welfare requirements for dogs and cats, it falls within the scope of the Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council 56 and the corresponding definitions of competent authorities should apply. The definition of competent authorities laid down in that Regulation should apply, in order to ensure consistency with the applicable rules on official controls concerning animal health and welfare.
(22)The concept of the “five domains” (nutrition, physical environment, health, behavioural interactions and mental state) has been developed through scientific evidence to describe the different dimensions of animal welfare. It does not focus only on the absence of negative experiences for the animal but also encompasses positive experiences. This Regulation should therefore be based on the concept of the “five domains”.
(23)In order to ensure proper enforcement of this Regulation, it is essential that competent authorities are able to identify the establishments subject to their official controls. It is therefore necessary that operators keeping dogs and cats in establishments notify their activities to the competent authorities.
(24)Well trained and skilled staff are essential for improving the welfare conditions of animals. Competencies in animal welfare require knowledge of the basic behavioural patterns and needs of the species concerned. Animal caretakers should have the competencies in animal welfare relevant to their tasks and the animals they handle, in order to avoid inflicting pain, distress and suffering on dogs and cats.
(25)Given the fact that animal welfare includes the health of animals, veterinarians are in the best position to provide advice to operators with a view to improving the animal welfare situation in establishments. Veterinarians should play an active role in raising awareness on the interrelationship between the health and welfare of those animals. Establishments keeping dogs and cats should therefore receive a regular animal welfare visit from a veterinarian.
(26)Certain breeding strategies may lead to welfare problems for dogs and cats. By selecting certain genetic traits for aesthetic or other marketing reasons, undesirable traits from an animal welfare perspective may also be created and passed on to future generations. Therefore, operators should take measures to ensure that their breeding strategies do not lead to such negative consequences for the welfare of the dogs and cats.
(27)Scientific evidence demonstrates that inbreeding has significant negative impacts on animal health and welfare. Therefore, inbreeding of dogs and cats including first-degree and second-degree matings should be prohibited, as this increases the incidence of inherited disorders and compromises immune system function, both of which adversely impact the health and welfare of dogs and cats.
(28)The European Food Safety Authority (‘the Authority’) provided technical and scientific assistance on several questions regarding housing, health and painful procedures relevant to dogs and cats kept in breeding establishments 57 . This Regulation takes into account the recommendations of the Authority on the type of housing and exercise, on housing temperature and light, on health and painful surgical interventions.
(29)Scientific evidence highlights the importance of feeding, watering, housing, health, behavioural needs and the prevention of painful practices for the welfare of dogs and cats. It is therefore essential that those areas of keeping dogs and cats are regulated in detail.
(30)Scientific evidence is clear about the necessity for dogs and cats of having enough space to express their natural behaviour and having normal social interactions. This is not possible where animals are kept in confinement and in cages. The keeping of dogs and cats in cages should therefore be prohibited.
(31)Tethering for long periods should be prohibited, as it can raise significant animal welfare concerns. It can be associated with an increased prevalence of locomotor disorders, inability to lie or rest comfortably, and to perform normal behaviours.
(32)Providing enough space for dogs and cats to express innate behaviours is of great importance. For the same reason, the use of containers should be limited to exceptional circumstances, such as isolation of aggressive animals or transport to a veterinarian. Accommodation for dogs and cats should also provide unrestricted access to natural light, complemented where needed by artificial lighting, in order to facilitate the appropriate circadian rhythm of the animals. Safe daily access to outdoors should be provided to dogs in order to address their need to exercise, socialise and express other innate behaviours.
(33)To prevent pregnancy complications and compromising their welfare, bitches and queens should only be bred after reaching skeletal as well as sexual maturity. To allow them to physically recuperate from pregnancy and lactation, bitches and queens should only be readmitted to reproduction after a sufficient period of time. However, to prevent certain pathological reproductive conditions in bitches and queens, such as pyometra, up to three consecutive pregnancies should be allowed, followed by an adequate recuperation period. Reproduction should gradually cease in bitches and queens coming into older age.
(34)The change of practices regarding the cycle of reproduction required by this Regulation may in some instances, impact the level of revenues of breeders of dogs and cats due to the decreasing number of litters produced per year. It is therefore necessary to provide breeders with additional time to adapt their business model.
(35)Dogs and cats kept as pets should not pose any threat to human safety. To reduce the risk of aggression towards humans, dogs and cats born in breeding establishments should be appropriately socialised with conspecifics, if possible, with other animals, and with humans. They should be kept in a stimulating and non-threatening environment equipped with enrichment providing them opportunities to play and express other innate behaviours. Separation of dogs and cats from their mothers earlier than natural weaning can cause serious separation stress in these animals and should therefore be prohibited.
(36)Procedures with the purpose of altering the appearance of or preventing certain behaviours of cats and dogs, such as ear cropping, tail docking, removal of claws and resection of vocal cords, have a serious negative impact on the welfare of cats and dogs. These procedures cause pain and prevent cats and dogs from expressing innate behaviours. For this reason, they should only be allowed if performed by a veterinarian and only when necessary for medical reasons.
(37)The conditions in breeding establishments are particularly critical to ensure that dogs and cats are properly kept and treated before being placed on the market. It is therefore important that those establishments are approved by the competent authorities and are subject to onsite pre-inspection before their approval. It is also important that a list of those approved establishments is publicly available to allow potential buyers to verify the status of their suppliers. Since all establishments have an extended time for application of requirements on housing and health, it is necessary that the obligation of breeding establishments to obtain an approval should start to apply on the same date as the requirements for housing and health.
(38)Some operators placing on the market dogs and cats, or shelters supplying dogs and cats, encourage potential customers to buy at any cost using emotional arguments, without mentioning to the potential owner the consequences of owning a pet animal. Other operators or shelters insist on the responsibility attached to pet ownership and this has the effect of limiting their ability to sell animals. This discrepancy of attitudes of operators tends to advantage less responsible operators, leading to distortions of competition despite the importance for animal welfare and public order of informing customers about their responsibility when buying a dog or a cat. It is therefore justified to require that all suppliers of dogs and cats in the Union market for use as pets inform future owners on their responsibility. In addition, where the supply of a dog or cat is facilitated by online means, an appropriate warning should accompany the online advertisement to efficiently convey the message of responsible ownership.
(39)Illegal trafficking and fraudulent practices in relation to the sale or transfer of dogs and cats for adoption is facilitated by the absence of traceability given the lack of identification and registration requirements for those animals. Furthermore, fraudulent practices may appear when the systems for the identification and registration of dogs and cats are not harmonised or cannot be easily operated because technical systems are not interoperable. It is therefore essential to harmonize the standards for the means of identification and registration and to ensure that the identification and registration of dogs and cats is completed before the animal is supplied in the Union for the first time. Suppliers of dogs and cats should provide evidence of identification and registration in one of the databases established by Member States for this purpose, before the first placing on the market of the animal in the Union. Subsequently, at every change of ownership or responsibility for the animal, the supplier must provide proof of identification and registration of the animal in one of the databases. For the sake of proportionality, natural persons supplying dogs and cats occasionally by other means than online platforms should not be subject to this obligation.
(40)Suppliers of dogs and cats should not only provide evidence of identification, showing a document referring to the code of the transponder implanted in the animal but also evidence of the registration of that animal into an official database. This allows key information about the animal to be passed on to the new owner and ensures traceability.
(41)As most dogs and cats are currently offered for sale or donation by means of listings placed on online platforms, providers of online platforms should act diligently when intermediating access to dogs and cats. Therefore, without prejudice to Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, online platforms should be required to adapt the modalities of their listings for dogs and cats so that suppliers provide proofs of the identification and registration of the dogs and cats intended for sale or donation. In addition, the Commission should ensure the development of a system publicly available free of charge allowing to verify the authenticity of the identification and registration of a dog or a cat. This measure aims to better combat fraud by improving the traceability of dogs and cats supplied in the Union to their origin, allowing better controls by competent authorities and ultimately improving the welfare of these animals. This should not amount to an obligation for online platforms to generally monitor the listings offered through their platform, nor to a general fact-finding obligation aimed at assessing the accuracy of the identification and registration prior to the publication of the offer.
(42)Since the level of awareness on animal welfare of animal caretakers has a direct impact on the welfare of dogs and cats under their care, Member States should ensure that sufficient training is available both in terms of quantity and quality to enable animal caretakers to meet the training requirements and set out in this Regulation.
(43)To ensure traceability of dogs and cats, animals should not only be marked with a unique identifier in the form of transponder, but their identification should also be registered in a database. Therefore, Member States that do not yet have national databases for dogs and cats should establish such databases so that identification can be reliable and verified. In addition, to ensure traceability within the Union, these national databases should be interoperable, allowing competent authorities and relevant stakeholders to verify the authenticity of the identification.
(44)To evaluate the progress of the animal welfare conditions in which dogs and cats are kept in establishments and of their traceability, it is necessary that Member States collect, report and analyse key policy indicators, which should be harmonised under this Regulation to ensure their comparability at Union level, and enable a Union monitoring of the progress in achieving the policy objectives of this Regulation.
(45)Dogs and cats imported into the Union may have been bred or kept in third countries in conditions that are detrimental to their welfare. In addition, taking into account the particular concerns of Union citizens’ for the welfare of dogs and cats, as well as animal health and public health risks associated to poor welfare conditions in the establishment of origin specialised in dogs and cats breeding, it is important that dogs and cats imported from third countries comply with rules as regards their welfare that are equivalent to those laid down in this Regulation, and offer the same guarantees as regards their traceability. Given that this will require changes from third country operators involved in exports to the Union of dogs and cats, it is necessary to provide for a transitional period of the same duration as that applicable to Union operators.
(46)The provisions mentioned in the previous recital should be enforced through a listing of third countries approved to supply of dogs and cats to the Union based on a Commission assessment of the reliability of their official controls to enforce the animal welfare rules required under this Regulation, or equivalent rules, in establishments on their territory which supply or intend to supply dogs and cats to the Union. In addition, a list of establishments breeding and keeping dogs and cats in those third countries, and which are allowed to export those animals to the Union, should be established to ensure traceability and controls at Union Border Control Posts. The Commission should, following a risk-based approach, carry out audits of the reliability of official control system of third countries approved under this Regulation as well as those requesting to be approved under this Regulation.
(47)Under Regulation (EU) 2016/429, a list of third countries authorised for the purpose of entry into the Union of dogs and cats is established for the purpose of managing the risk of introducing transmissible animal diseases into the Union. The list of third countries mentioned in the previous recital should therefore be limited to third countries authorised under Regulation (EU) 2016/429 and which provide appropriate guarantees of the capacity of their competent authority to control and ensure compliance of the establishments breeding and keeping dogs and cats for export to the Union with the animal welfare requirements set out in this Regulation.
(48)In order to take into account technical progress and scientific developments, and their social, economic and environmental impacts, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission for the purpose of amending Article 6 to this Regulation so that breeding strategies do not result in genotypes that have detrimental effects on the health or welfare of the dogs and cats.
(49)In order to lay down minimum criteria to be assessed during animal welfare visits, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission for the purpose of supplementing Article 10 of this Regulation.
(50)In order to take account of technical progress and scientific developments, and their social, economic and environmental impacts, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission for the purpose of amending the Annexes to this Regulation as regards requirements for the breeding, keeping and identification of dogs and cats as well as indicators to monitor the policy objectives of this Regulation.
(51)It is of particular importance that the Commission carries out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making. 58 In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.
(52)Implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission in order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of the following provisions of this Regulation:
–Article 9(3) to harmonise the content of the education, training or professional experience for animal caretakers;
–Article 17(5) to specify the information to be provided by suppliers as proof of identification and registration of dogs and cats, both in cases where they are offered through online platforms and by other means;
–Article 17(7) to specify certain aspects of the system performing automated checks of the authenticity of the identification and registration of dogs and cats;
–Article 19(3) to establish minimum requirements for the content of the databases referred to in paragraph 1 and the requirements concerning the interoperability of the databases;
–Article 20(3) to establish a harmonised methodology for measuring the data collected in Annex III and the template for the Member States report to the Commission on those data;
–Article 21(5) to establish a procedure for the recognition by the Union of equivalence of the conditions under which dogs and cats are bred and kept in establishments in a third country which intends to export animals to the Union, with the provisions of this Regulation regarding establishments.
Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council 59 .
(53)There are varying citizens attitudes regarding the welfare of dogs and cats and some Member States have already adopted comprehensive set of rules in this regard. It is therefore necessary that Member States are allowed to maintain stricter national rules aimed at a more extensive protection of the animals than those laid down in this Regulation. Member States should also continue to have the possibility to adopt stricter national rules in certain areas provided that those rules do not affect the proper functioning of the internal market.
(54)Member States should notify the Commission of any such national rules. The Commission should bring them to the attention of other Member States. Where national rules fall within the scope of Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council, they should be notified to the Commission in accordance with that Directive.
(55)It is essential that Union legislation is subject to regular monitoring and evaluation so it can be adjusted in order to achieve the expected impacts. Therefore, this Regulation should contain an obligation for the Commission to perform monitoring on the welfare of dogs and cats in the Union and to carry out an evaluation to be presented to other Union institutions.
(56)To ensure the full application of this Regulation, Member States should lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of this Regulation and ensure that they are implemented. Those penalties must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
(57)Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely to establish minimum harmonised rules that ensure the proper functioning of the internal market while ensuring a high level of welfare of dogs and cats and their traceability cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, but can rather, by reason of its effects, be better achieved by the Union, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.