On Tuesday, the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture unexpectedly announced the dismissal of Urmas Kirtsi, director general of the Agriculture and Food Board (PTA), who had been appointed in 2021. Although the press release praised Kirtsi's work in merging the Agricultural Board and the Veterinary and Food Board, it also highlighted the need to improve food safety oversight and enhance the handling of animal welfare issues.

ERR inquired with the ministry about the specific shortcomings attributed to Kirtsi, noting that dismissals are not made without substantial reasons.

Marko Gorban, the ministry's secretary general, reiterated the praise for the significant work done on the agency merger, for which the ministry is grateful to Kirtsi.

"In order for the agency to fulfill its legal responsibilities and provide high-quality services, changes in leadership are now necessary," Gorban added. "In particular, the processes and procedures related to food safety and animal welfare need to be strengthened."

However, he declined to specify the exact criticisms of Kirtsi's performance. Gorban explained that the reliability of the sector depends on the functioning and effectiveness of the oversight system, and the ministry's aim is to maintain a stable work environment, protect employees and ensure the sector's credibility remains intact.

Urmas Kirtsi told ERR that the list of criticisms presented to him was quite lengthy, but, in his opinion, largely lacked substance.

"It seems that the minister has put many nice ideas on paper, but in my and my colleagues' view, there's no substance behind them," Kirtsi said. "This issue needs to be addressed because I cannot allow a judgment to be made through me that also affects my fellow executives, as we have sectoral management. Unfortunately, this list presents an unfair evaluation of many of us."

Animal welfare organizations have struggled in their cooperation with Kirtsi. Kristi Metsa, head of the South Estonia region for the Estonian Animal Welfare Society, said that Kirtsi left a very condescending impression on the society and took an arrogant stance toward them.

"He didn't acknowledge any problems. We sat down with [former] Minister Madis Kallas, trying to engage in dialogue and address the issues, but he ignored the existence of any problems," Metsa said. "Later, we turned to the new minister, Piret Hartman (SDE), and met with other organizations to discuss animal welfare issues when she took office. Hartman promised to address the issue."

As an example of the PTA's shortcomings, Metsa mentioned that the agency's representatives often did not arrive at the necessary locations and even when they did, there were no follow-up actions such as the removal of animals or initiation of misdemeanor proceedings.

"To date, we have handed over several puppy mills to the PTA, yet we haven't seen a single misdemeanor case that has gone to court or resulted in the revocation of animal-keeping rights. The problems escalated. Something is wrong with the organization's leadership if they cannot properly communicate tasks to their subordinates," Metsa concluded.

Metsa highlighted that the Estonian Animal Welfare Society is the largest organization reporting animals in need to the PTA, yet this year alone, they have about a hundred unresolved cases where they don't even know if the animals are still alive.

"We are not allowed to enter private property, but those who are authorized to do so are not acting with sufficient speed or dedication," Metsa said.

The Estonian Society for the Protection of Animals (ELPA) also has complaints about Kirtsi. Geit Karurahu, a board member of the organization, said that they have over 20 years of experience working with the PTA and have witnessed various leadership styles.

"When the previous director took office, they actively worked to develop the organization and there was an effort to involve our organization and volunteers more in the work of animal welfare specialists, so we could support each other and work together to ensure all inspections were carried out. With Kirtsi's arrival, that progress came to a halt. The cooperation became very distant," said Karurahu.

She noted that they attended several meetings with the PTA and tried to find ways to collaborate, but there was no movement in that direction. Joint inspections between animal welfare organizations and the PTA also stopped, even though the society wanted to continue assisting PTA officials, much like how volunteer police officers help law enforcement.

"Responses to incidents were no longer as swift as they had been," Karurahu added.

Animal welfare advocates felt that the PTA regressed, as similar problems existed before, but after Kirtsi took over, the situation deteriorated to a level seen 10-15 years ago. It became difficult to contact officials, decisions were not explained and in some inspections, officials claimed everything was fine when it wasn't. Karurahu also noted that response times became slower under Kirtsi's leadership.

Kristi Metsa pointed out that the issue cannot solely be attributed to a lack of funding, as concerns also arise from the attitude of some officials. For instance, inspections may verify the presence of a doghouse but fail to measure the length of the chain.

"Some officials are very careless. Not all, but there are issues across several regions," said the representative of the Estonian Animal Welfare Society. She added that pet owners are still being warned in advance of inspections and officials do not answer their phones after working hours.

"This may indeed be due to a lack of resources, but we can't choose when to rescue an animal in poor condition. Often, we need an official to be present so the situation can be formally recorded, allowing the pet owner to be held accountable later," Metsa explained, describing some of the challenges they face. "Today, much of the responsibility for animal welfare rests heavily on volunteers."

Kirtsi: Decision follows lobby efforts by animal rights activists

Urmas Kirtsi stated that the PTA investigates all tips received, but the workload in the field is so extensive that there isn't always time for correspondence.

"We monitor the response to tips. Generally, we don't reply to every tip, but we've tried to respond to animal welfare organizations so they know whether a case has been opened or if we've visited the site," Kirtsi said.

Kirtsi believes that his dismissal is largely the result of lobbying by volunteer animal welfare activists. While he did not dispute the need to improve the agency's efficiency, he considers the primary issue to be a lack of funding.

"It's true that there's still much to be done to ensure food security and safeguard animal welfare and health. Over time, we've made proposals to the ministry about the need for additional resources to improve service quality. At the end of the day, passionate speeches only go so far and it's clear that more resources are needed for the agency," Kirtsi said.

He emphasized that people don't fully understand that the PTA doesn't have the same response capacity as the police or fire services, as PTA officials work regular hours and must fit tips into their broader workload, which can cause delays. However, Kirtsi assured that the agency has improved its responsiveness, prioritizing tips based on urgency.

According to Kirtsi, the PTA meets regularly with animal welfare organizations, two or three times a year, to discuss how to improve collaboration.

"We maintain the position that the role of volunteer organizations is to raise awareness among animal owners and provide tips to us. If this happens with mutual respect, everything works smoothly," said Kirtsi.

He also highlighted that PTA officials' salaries are, on average, 14 percent lower than those of other government agencies, and he has had no explanation to offer his staff as to why this is the case. For some reason, PTA officials have been treated worse than their counterparts in other agencies.

"In the end, if you have less money, you're at a disadvantage in the labor market," Kirtsi added.

He also mentioned that he is considering challenging the decision to remove him from office, as he feels the injustice in the directive is glaring.

"Both from a procedural standpoint and especially regarding the claims made," Kirtsi said.

Animal welfare organizations, on the other hand, hope that the PTA will get a new director, one who can give the agency a fresh start.

"Right now, it feels like we've been banging our heads against a wall – no matter how much cooperation we offer, it hasn't been accepted. Maybe now someone will come who can help move things forward," said Geit Karurahu.

The Agriculture and Food Board was established at the beginning of 2021 through the merger of the Veterinary and Food Board and the Agricultural Board. The PTA oversees areas such as food and feed safety, animal health and welfare, breeding of farm animals, land improvement and use, plant protection and health, plant propagation materials, fertilizers, organic farming, professional fishing and market regulation.

A public competition will soon be held to find a new director general.

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