Document type : answer to question n°04928 published in Journal officiel du Sénat
Authors: question: Christine Herzog(Moselle - UC) Answer: Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty
Question: Mrs. Christine Herzog asks the French Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty about legislation concerning the possession and trading of dogs in private homes. Numerous cases of abuse are reported and mayors have great difficulty getting local gendarmeries to pay attention to such reports which on most occasions are archived without any further action. She asks him for the documents governing the possession and trading of these animals and whether mayors must make the prefect intervene directly to oblige the gendarmerie to carry out inspections and establish the facts.
Answer: Combating pet abuse is a priority for the government. Numerous actions have been undertaken to achieve this. The legislative and regulatory system has changed following the adoption of Law no. 2021-1539 of November 30, 2021 to combat animal abuse and strengthen the bond between animals and humans. The adoption of this law has already made it possible to impose tougher penalties for acts of animal abuse. Since then, three application decrees have been published: - Decree no. 2022-1012 of July 18, 2022 on the protection of pets and equines against animal abuse sets out the terms for the online publication of advertisements for animals and the procedures for their control in the case of domestic carnivores. The entry into force of these provisions is scheduled for July 1, 2023 and will be preceded by the publication of a decree specifying the content of the public awareness messages to appear on websites hosting these advertisements. This decree also specifies the terms and conditions for the introduction of the certificates of commitment and knowledge that, since October 1, 2022, must be requested from any new purchaser of a pet animal and any keeper of equids since December 31, 2022. An instruction specifies the conditions for the issuing and use of the certificate relating to companion animals, including standard templates for certificates by species; - Decree no. 2022-1179 of August 24, 2022 describes the terms of the animal welfare training concerning dogs and cats that must be followed by pound managers; - Decree no. 2022-1354 of October 24, 2022 relating to the protection of companion animals sets out the penalties that may be applied when the obligations defined in the decree are not respected. It also details the requirement for a health veterinarian to be designated by associations that do not manage a shelter but nevertheless take in animals. The Government has also put in place unprecedented support for the protection of pets through several France Relance measures. Nearly €35 million has been made available as part of the plan to support the care of abandoned or dying animals. Thus, 538 shelters and associations that take in animals have received investment aid and 416 sterilization campaigns have been financed. The care of animals belonging to the poor or homeless has also been partially covered in order to encourage the veterinary oversight of these animals and, more specifically, to encourage sterilizations, the first step in preventing the abandonment of young unwanted animals. Last, in the absence of reliable data on abandonment, and due to the lack of knowledge of the circumstances that can lead to the abandonment of an animal, the first observatory for the protection of domestic carnivores (OCAD) was established in 2021. This observatory's mission is to issue recommendations for public policy and it has already embarked on a first project to collect and analyze information useful for the analysis and objectification of abandonment.
