Document type : news item from French Government website
Author: Gouvernement.fr
Preview: In a final vote in the Senate on Thursday 18 November, the Parliament definitively adopted the bill to combat animal abuse.
Including a gradual ban on wild animals in circuses and dolphinariums and prohibition of the sale of puppies and kittens in pet shops, the French parliamentary bill to combat animal abuse was definitively adopted on Thursday 18 November 2021.
"This is a great day, because acting to improve animal welfare is the mark of a society that is aware of its responsibility towards a fragile natural world. It is the mark of a mature civilisation." said Barbara Pompili, French Minister for Ecological Transition.
The vote will make it possible to introduce new legal provisions to regulate the keeping of domestic animals, to combat cruelty to animals and to put an end to the use of wild animals for commercial purposes.
The text contains:
- a ban on the sale of puppies and kittens in pet shops from 1 January 2024 and a ban on the display of animals in shop windows;
- a system for the sale of animals online, to combat animal trafficking and impulse buying;
- the introduction of a certificate of knowledge prior to the acquisition of apet, which mentions the specific needs of the animal;
- tougher penalties for serious abuse and cruelty to animals, as well as penalties for abandoning animals;
- an end to the commercial exploitation of wild species, with a ban on their acquisition and reproduction to come into force within 2 years and on their presence in travelling circuses within 7 years;
- a ban on the keeping of cetaceans in dolphinariums within 5 years;
- a ban on the breeding of American mink and other species exclusively for fur.
