Proposed changes in Estonia entail neutering pet cats, ending dog chaining

A legislative intent recently drawn up by the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture includes several changes affecting pet ownership. While animal welfare advocates support the move to phase out the practice of chaining dogs, they don't agree that the mandatory neutering of pet cats is alone enough to help curb Estonia's massive stray populations.
According to the legislative intent, pet owners would be obligated in the future to prevent uncontrolled animal reproduction. One means of doing this would be to introduce a clear legal requirement that a pet owner may only keep as many animals as they can maintain responsibility for in terms of ensuring their welfare, their health and the prevention of uncontrolled breeding.
In relevant cases identified during inspection, for example, the Agriculture and Food Board (PTA) could issue an injunction ordering a pet owner to get their pet – or pet kept for commercial purposes – neutered or otherwise restrict the reproduction of their animals. This is the approach that Finland has taken in its own new Animal Welfare Act.
The authors of the legislative intent, however, believe that with this as a sole regulatory method, such wording may be too general, and there has been some debate regarding whether the law should include more specifically worded requirements.
One possible option to consider in light of this is making it mandatory for pet owners to neuter pet-only cats at a certain age, unless medically contraindicated, the legislative intent notes.
Local governments, however, must be granted the right by law to make exceptions either based on owner requests or within dog and cat ownership regulations passed by the local government council.
Animal organizations bear brunt of overpopulation
To date, the burden of dealing with stray cats in Estonia has fallen largely on the shoulders of animal welfare activists and organizations.
"It's neverending," admitted Pille Tees, a lawyer at the Estonian Union for the Protection of Animals (ELL). "It's fighting a losing battle."
Tees noted that some countries have gone the route of requiring that pet cats get fixed.
"If you have a pet, you don't need for them to have offspring – that would be left up to kennels or breeders," she said. "If the state also started requiring [neutering], that would have results."
An alternative, she added, would be a possible tax on owners who don't want to get their pets fixed, she added.
While problems with uncontrolled breeding aren't as pronounced in Northern Estonia, the lawyer highlighted that the situation is really bad in both Lääne County and Ida-Viru County.
Geit Karurahu, communications and marketing manager at the Estonian Society for the Protection of Animals (ELS), shares similar views.
"Since stray cat populations in Estonia haven't been brought under control over the course of the last few decades, we see trap-neuter-return (TNR) and the mandatory neutering of pet cats as possible solutions," Karurahu said.
She pointed out that the current legislative intent doesn't consider TNR to be a possible option.
"It is true that there are still several aspects here that need to be considered and addressed, but we fear that the assumption alone that pet owners will get cats they keep as pets fixed may not contribute to reducing the number of strays," the ELS representative explained. "At least not as rapidly as we need right now. But it's a step in the right direction."
The legislative intent likewise notes that while previous global neutering guidelines recommend neutering cats around 5-6 months of age, i.e. around the time cats reach sexual maturity. More recent research, however, recommends getting these procedures done even sooner – within 12-16 weeks of age.
Nonetheless, its authors don't consider it necessary to amend the law to require specifically pre-pubertal neutering, and find it sufficient to make neutering mandatory by no later than six months of age.
Dog chaining to be phased out
When it came to dogs, experts interviewed in 2023 did not deem the same approach necessary, as the uncontrolled breeding of dogs is generally not a problem in Estonia. The authors note that dog breeding without regard for the welfare of the mother or puppies is what some breeders deliberately want, in order to sell puppies – i.e. in puppy mills.
The recent legislative intent also addresses amending the Animal Protection Act to add a ban on keeping a dog tethered on a regular basis – a practice known as tethering or chaining.
In order to avoid jeopardizing the welfare of those dogs currently kept chained or the safety of their surroundings, the law must provide for a transitional period based on the entry into force of the amendment. This would avoid dogs already currently kept chained from being required to be released.
Banning the regular chaining of dogs sends an important message from the state that a dog is a social animal, not a security device, the legislative intent notes. Nonetheless, the authors consider a transition period necessary for both dogs' and humans' safety.
Experts, animal welfare organizations and PTA inspectors alike are all in favor of banning the practice.
Ultimately considered the best possible solution is to ban the chaining of all dogs born on or after a specific date, such as January 1, 2025, as well as dogs born prior to then that have not previously been kept chained.
Temporarily tying out or restraining a dog for a limited period, such as an hour or two, in atypical circumstances or outside of one's home would not be considered chaining.
Thousands of strays caught each year
The PTA analyzes data on animal welfare violations on a yearly basis.
In 2018, the PTA received a total of 286 tips regarding possible animal abuse; since then, that figure has continued to go up each year, reaching 852 in 2023.
The authority estimates that nearly half of last year's tips were substantiated.
According to a 2021 survey conducted by insurance company If, which provides pet insurance for animals up to age eight, 37 percent of Estonian residents had a pet cat, 27 percent a dog and 14 percent some other type of pet.
Registered with the Agricultural Registers and Information Board (PRIA) are 51 persons that own pets for other than non-commercial purposes, i.e. are engaged in pet sales. Of these, 20 operate as stores.
Another 200 individuals are registered with PRIA as keeping dogs and cats as an economic activity.
According to AS Vireen, a provider of animal remains disposal services, 17 tons of pet remains are disposed of each year, and these volumes haven't decreased over the past decade.
Each year, local authorities around Estonia catch around 10,000 stray animals as well.
Of these, approximately 3,000 end up returned home; the rest are either euthanized or handed over to animal welfare organizations to be put up for adoption.
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Editor: Mari Peegel, Aili Vahtla