Document type: article published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Agri-Food, and Food Sovereignty (MAASA)
Author: MAASA
Preview: The OCAD brings together all those working on the protection of domestic carnivores in its steering committee, including representatives from nonprofit organizations, animal pounds and shelters, breeders, pet stores, veterinarians, those who run the registers for pedigrees, industry representatives, and the French Association of Mayors. The OCAD also welcomes two permanent invited parties: the French Reference Centre for Animal Welfare FRCAW), which acts as the expert body responsible for the execution of requests from the OCAD Steering Committee; and the French identification database for domestic carnivores (I-CAD), which provides data of use to the expert body’s analysis based on its own database and the French operator database for dogs, cats, and ferrets. Last, the French Ministry of Agriculture provides the administrative support for the OCAD.
The OCAD's Steering Committee is responsible for defining the key directions of OCAD’s work. It discusses and issues opinions based on the expert reports carried out by the FRCAW at its request.
Framework Agreement on the definitiona and organization of the OCAD
The joint-working procedures for the various members of the Steering Committee are set out in a Framework Agreement signed by all members. This agreement also defines, in the Appendix describing the internal regulation of the OCAD Steering Committee, the membership rules for the committee.
FRCAW Expert Reports requested by the OCAD
All FRCAW expert reports to the OCAD are available on the FRCAW website https://www.cnr-bea.fr/expertise-avis-travaux/#animaux-ocad.
Summaries of the opinions issued by the OCAD Steering Committee
The first task entrusted to the OCAD by the French Minister of Agriculture concerned animal abandonment, an issue that requires expert analysis to inform the organization of actions to combat abandonment.
An initial expert report by the FRCAW was submitted to the members of the Steering Committee on March 4, 2022. The report aimed to provide an overview of the current situation regarding the abandonment of dogs and cats in France. A summary of the Steering Committee’s opinions on this initial expert report was approved by Steering Committee members in March 2023.
A second expert report from FRCAW was submitted to the members of the Steering Committee on July 12, 2023. Its purpose was to develop a proposed definition of abandonment and closed list of reasons for dogs and cats to enter and leave the care of facilities and organisations. A summary of the Steering Committee’s opinions on this second expert report was approved by the Steering Committee members in June 2026.
Survey data collected by the OCAD
Number of Abandoned Dogs and Cats in France in 2025
Following the second expert opinion produced by the FRCAW for the OCAD, which includes a definition of “abandonment” as a prelude to quantification, the OCAD steering committee agreed a formula for the calculation of the annual numbers of abandoned dogs and cats, which may evolve over the years in light of the data that is available and in a form that can be exploited (…) Thus, for the year 2025, the total number of abandoned dogs and cats is estimated to have been between 281,000 and 398,000, depending on the calculation method used. (…)
