The Protection of Cats and Dogs in EU Law – Companion for Life: From Ownership to Responsibility
Published in 2025
White paper on the protection of cats and dogs in the EU
Document Types: Technical review
Animal category: Canines
Animal welfare organisations that rehome dogs from southern and eastern Europe to Germany: A homepage content analysis
Published in 2025
Scientific article analyzing the homepages of German animal welfare organizations involved in the adoption of abandoned dogs from southern and eastern European countries. He concludes that the lack of health information and behavioral descriptions can hinder adoption and increase the number of returns. Failure to comply with legislation can jeopardize animal welfare and increase the risk of illegal trade in dogs.
Document Types: Scientific paper
Animal categories:Canine
Abandoned animals and those who take them in - First study on abandonment and adoption 2025 (Based on 2024 data)
Published in 2025
Nation-wide study in France by the SPA and the Affinity Foundation on the abandonment and adoption of cats and dogs in 2024.
Document Types: Technical review
An analysis of behavioral characteristics and enrollment year variability in 47,444 dogs entering the Dog Aging Project from 2020 to 2023
Published in 2025
Study from the Dog Aging Project establishing baseline behavioral measures for over 47,000 dogs in order to use changes in behavior as health and welfare indicators. It shows that the year of registration (especially after Covid), as well as factors such as breed, age and sex, significantly influence scores for the four composite behavior domains, Fear, Attention/Exitability, Aggression and Trainability.
Document Types: Scientific paper
Animal categories:Canine
Exploring human-animal interactions beyond academic research: A rapid review of grey literature
Published in 2025
Scientific overview showing that human-animal interactions are beneficial to the welfare of both humans and animals, in various contexts and for vulnerable populations.
Document Types: Scientific review
Animal categories:Canine, Equine, Feline, Birds (excluding poultry)
Decree of June 19, 2025 laying down the animal health and protection rules to be met by activities involving domestic pets
Published in 2025
This Order repeals that of April 3, 2014. It reinforces animal health and protection rules for pet-related activities, providing a clear and detailed regulatory framework for the activities of shelters, breeding establishments, educators and traders, taking into account the particular needs of each individual species. Health rules must now be instituted by all establishments.
Document types: Regulation/Certification
Animal categories:Canine, Feline, NAC, Birds (excluding poultry), Fish, Rodents
European Parliament: written answer to question E-001682/25: Turkish law that allows the killing of roaming dogs and cats
Published in 2025
In response to concerns about the mass slaughter of stray dogs in Turkey, the Commission points out that animal welfare is not regulated at EU level for third countries. However, it supports the actions of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE),of which Turkey is a member, to promote international standards on the ethical management of dog populations.
Document types: Regulation/Certification
Regional Platform on Animal Welfare for Europe - Annual report - 2024
Published in 2024
The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) European Regional Platform on Animal Welfare, created in 2013, supports all 53 European countries in the progressive implementation of WOAH standards, notably in the realms of transport, slaughter, management of stray dogs, animal welfare during emergencies caused by extreme natural events, and working equines. Since 2024, it has been putting its fourth action plan into operation, which responds to the needs of member countries and the results of an external evaluation.
Document types: Regulation/Certification
Animal categories:Cattle, Dogs, Goats, Equines, Sheep, Pigs, Poultry
European Parliament: written answer to question E-001104/25: Management of stray animals in the EU
Published in 2025
European Commission answer to a question from a Member of the European Parliament on the measures it envisages for the management of stray animals in the Member States. No common legislative framework is planned for stray animals other than those kept in shelters, but funding is being put in place via the WHOA regional platform to facilitate the application of international standards.
Document types: Regulation/Certification
Agriculture Committee votes on first EU rules on welfare of dogs and cats
Published in 2025
Press release announcing the adoption by the European Parliament of groundbreaking rules on the welfare and traceability of dogs and cats, including compulsory electronic identification and a ban on breeding establishments for animals with extreme characteristics.
Document types: Regulation/Certification
