Pet microchipping to become mandatory

TALLINN - The Estonian Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture wants to make the registration and microchipping of dogs, cats and ferrets mandatory from June 1, 2027, and the data of the animals and their owners must be entered into a pet register to be created under the agricultural registers and information agency PRIA.

The obligation to microchip an animal helps ensure that the owner of the animal is identifiable from the animal's birth to death. It is sensible to keep data on animals and owners in a national register, both for practical reasons and for data protection reasons.

"In most cases, a stray animal can only be identified thanks to a microchip implant, which is why we want to make microchipping mandatory. The national pet register, where chip data is entered, ensures that the data on animals and owners is available to authorized persons across Estonia, but at the same time is securely protected," Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture Piret Hartman said.

"Until now, the registers have been municipality-based, but animals do not know administrative boundaries. The easier and faster it is to identify the owner of an animal, the fewer homeless animals there will be and the fewer disputes over who is responsible for the animal," she added.

This also creates a clear overview of pets in the country, which helps plan both monitoring and organize local services.

"The establishment of a register will help reduce animal-related crime, including their theft and resale. Thanks to this, animal welfare can be proactively monitored, for example in puppy mills. In addition, the register will help plan public space according to the needs of residents and their pets," Hartman said.

In the future, anyone who adopts a cat, dog or ferret must have the animal microchipped by a veterinarian, who will immediately enter the chip into the national register. If the owner of the animal gives away or sells the animal and thus the ownership changes, the owner of the animal will make the change in the register. The details of both the pet and its owner must also be updated in the register if they change.

A state fee of 12 euros must be paid for registering a pet and ownership change, which covers the cost of maintaining the register. A state fee will not have to be paid for pets that are already in different registers, their data will be transferred to the national register.

In addition, minor technical changes will be made to the Veterinary Act. Among other things, companies providing veterinary services will be required to provide information about a permanently employed veterinarian in the list of data to be collected. The requirements for veterinarians to report various animal diseases will also be expanded.

Mandatory microchipping and a national register are prerequisites for planned changes to the Animal Protection Act to improve animal welfare.