The Estonian Animal Protection Association has proposed creating a list of people who should not own animals and making it available to both relevant institutions and animal breeders, writes ERR News.
Currently, Estonian law stipulates that courts can impose a ban on keeping animals if there has been cruelty to animals, neglect or repeated violations of welfare requirements. However, Pille Tees, a member of the board of the Animal Protection Association, pointed out that in reality the ban is very rarely applied. The association believes that the ban would be made more effective by creating a common register that would include people who should not own pets.
Tees said there is a penalty that is either not applied or is applied very rarely: “Our goal is for the ban to actually be enforced and for there to be a way to check whether someone is subject to it — because, currently, if someone has a ban, no one really knows.” She compared the situation to losing a driver’s license, and said it would be absurd if it were not possible to check whether a person can drive a car, and the same applies to the right to keep pets. Tessa added that the registry would also avoid situations where a person who has been banned tries to acquire a new pet, and along with animal welfare organizations, breeders should also be given the opportunity to check the data in the registry. “Unfortunately, we have a certain group of people who repeatedly abuse animals. There are many cases where
someone who has mistreated animals and had them taken away will soon acquire new ones,
without facing any real consequences. Even when a ban is in place, no one checks whether it’s being observed,” Tees pointed out.
The Animal Protection Association’s proposal to create a register of people who are prohibited from keeping pets is one of the recommendations the organization has submitted to the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs, which welcomes the work on changes to the Penal Code. Minister Liisa Pakosta told ERR that the idea needs to be carefully evaluated. So far, no official talks have taken place on it, and the ministry has not agreed on its position on the specific issue.
Pakosta added that, if the idea were to go ahead, several issues would need to be carefully weighed, including what data would be collected and who would be allowed access, as well as the usefulness and security issues of the register.
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