Traceability requirements for dogs, cats, ferrets (chipping and registration)

Veterinarian Amendment Act and Associated Acts Amendment Act

The Bill specifies the requirements for the traceability of pet animals, including pet animals kept for commercial and special purposes, making the identification of dogs, cats and ferrets kept in Estonia with an injectable electronic means of identification (hereinafter microchip) and the entry of relevant data on animals and keepers of animals in the state register (hereinafter also registration) mandatory. A new part of the register of pet animals and pet keepers (hereinafter referred to as ‘the national pet register’) is created for this purpose in the register of farm animals of the Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information Board (hereinafter ‘the ARIB’), and the register of farm animals is renamed the ‘Register of Animals’. A state fee shall be established, which shall be paid for registering a pet in the animal register and for changing the data in the event of a change of pet ownership. The draft specifies the procedure for the approval of a microchip for the identification of a pet animal and the obligations and scope of responsibility of the veterinarian, the person responsible for the keeping of stray animals in a shelter and the pet keeper for the provision and keeping up-todate of the data.