Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday posted a series of social media stories in reference to the government's new bill on pet ownership, which was approved at committee level on Monday, before it reaches a plenary vote soon.
Mitsotakis wrote about the merits of responsible pet ownership, and that no animal shall be abandoned or abused, as pet abuse will carry stricter fines and will now include acts such as abandonment, shooting, intentional injury and poisoning.
Existing fines for serious administrative offenses are also being tightened as per the new bill.
Records of people who have been sentenced for torturing animals will be entered into a database managed by the Athens prosecutor's office and be cross-referenced with the Pet Registry so that they may not register as pet owners in the future.
A pet DNA analysis and storage bank is also being set up, so that if an animal is abandoned the owner can be easily located and be penalized accordingly.
The leading change brought along by the new bill is the new digital health book for all pets, which will include a full medical history and will be accessible by both owners and veterinarian doctors.
Another key piece of Mitsotakis' legislation is a ban on cat and dog sales at pet shops, as is a ban on mating advertorials: the fine for publishing a mating ad will be more than tripled when not referencing the pet's unique ID microchip number and the new reproduction license.
The sale of pets will only be allowed by approved breeders and owners.
Pet adoption fees will be forbidden, except for transportation and medical treatment costs.
New rules are introduced for breeding as well: owners will be licensed for one litter per pet, while prospective owners of offspring will have to be officially registered.
Neutering will become mandatory for all owners, with some medical exceptions.
Approved licensed breeders will be fined 2,000 euros if they mate a single animal more than six times. Amateur (so-called 'backyard') breeders will also be subjected to several new restrictive rules.
Finally, a new National Pet Registry will be introduced, where all pets owned or stray will have to be registered, including pets put up for adoption.
As part of Mitsotakis' bill, animal welfare associations, vets, breeders and animal shelters will all have to register too.
In order to encourage owners to take better care of their pets, the bill introduces incentives by municipalities, such as a reduction in city taxes by up to 10 percent.
READ MORE: PM Mitsotakis adopts a stray dog called Peanut.
