This follows a law passed against animal abuse eight months ago. This law, promulgated on November 30, also aims to “strengthen the bond between animals and people”.
What are the changes?
The French love pets: one in two French people owns one. However, each year, and especially with the summer period, 100,000 animals find themselves abandoned. Blame it on impulse buying. To remedy this, a "certificate of commitment and knowledge" was put in place on July 19, 2022. It will be compulsorily issued before each acquisition (free of charge or for a fee) of a pet.
This certificate must specify, for each animal species, what are the needs of the animals and the obligations to be respected for the masters. It can be the material needs to ensure the well-being of the animal, everything related to logistics or finances. In addition, this certificate specifies what is mandatory to do with regard to the identification of the animal. Then, each refuge or association is free to add information deemed necessary. However, this certificate is not a free pass. The final decision whether or not to assign an animal rests with the shelter teams who know the animals' needs best.
In the case of animals abandoned and then placed in a foster family, a foster contract must be signed by the latter and by the person using the placement (the shelter or an association). This contract will contain information about the pet. This seals the bond between the two partners.
" The animals concerned by this decree are domestic carnivores and equines. This therefore concerns cats and dogs, as well as ferrets and lagomorphs (not intended for human consumption). Fish or reptiles are therefore not taken into account. However, they too have specific needs and are victims of abuse and even abandonment."
What are the specifics for online ads?
Online pet sale or adoption ads are also getting a makeover. Since July 19, 2022, an awareness and information message must appear on a mandatory basis. In a press release, the Ministry of Agriculture specifies that the announcements will be "subject to verification, in particular in the validity of the registration of the animal on the national identification file, and will include the mention "announcement verified" ". On the other hand, no information has been revealed as to who will carry out the checks and by what means.
What are the next steps?
This first decree concerning animal abuse will not be the last. This law provides, for example, for the gradual banning of wild animals in dolphinariums and circuses, a reinforced framework for the sale of animals online, greater pen alties in the event of abandonment or even the end of the sale of puppies and kittens in pet stores by 2024. These laws should come into force gradually until July 2023. Other decrees are expected to put an end to animal abuse. They mainly concern the criminal aspect.
The pen alties had already been toughened a few years ago, bringing the abandonment of an animal on the public highway to a fine of €45,000 and 3 years in prison. Abandonment in an association or in a shelter remains legal. With this decree, it should be easier to apply the law and to put in place the sanctions.
And for the horses?
This decree also concerns horse owners. It is indicated that "any person keeping an equine for purposes other than professional" must have specific knowledge and also sign a certificate of commitment and knowledge. Thus, the owner undertakes to respect the medical and physiological needs of the animal, but also to respect all the obligations concerning the identification and traceability of the horse. As for pets, the owner has the obligation to be able to assume the life of the horse from a financial and logistical point of view.