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Dogs and cats will have to be registered with ARIMR. Failure to register the animal on time will result in a fine.
KROPiK – another database in ARIMR
The government wants to introduce mandatory identification and registration of dogs and cats in the near future. The data is to be collected by ARIMR. The draft act specifying the principles of creation and operation of the so-called National Register of Dog and Cat Identification was published yesterday on the website of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister.
“The introduction of mandatory identification and registration of dogs and cats is intended to enable the use of the most effective tool in the Polish legal system in the fight against the phenomenon of dog and cat homelessness, which is the mandatory electronic identification of these animals,” we read in the document.
The National Register of Marked Dogs and Cats (KROPiK) is to be maintained in the IT system by the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture (ARiMR).
There will be police checks on farms
The marking and registration of dogs and cats will be checked by police officers, municipal police officers and the Veterinary Inspectorate.
Even veterinarians will be able to impose fines?
Those who do not register their animals with ARIMR may face fines as misdemeanors. However, as the Chancellery of the Prime Minister informs, it is also possible to rule out fines that veterinary inspectors will be able to impose. They will also be responsible for registering animals with KROPiK.
What data will KROPiK collect?
“KROPiK will collect basic data enabling the identification of a registered dog or cat and data identifying the owner of the animal. (…) KROPiK will provide free access to the data, including the possibility of searching it, to veterinarians, municipalities, police, municipal (city) guards, prosecutor’s offices, courts and the Veterinary Inspection – to the extent necessary to perform their statutory tasks and to enable contact with the owner of the dog or cat, in particular in the event of catching a lost animal” – we read on the website of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister.
Animal owners will have access to the register via the mObywatel application.
This will make it easier for dog and cat owners to update their pet’s data from the app, track vet visits and reminders about mandatory vaccinations. It will also be possible to quickly report a lost or found pet.
Deadlines for registration of dogs and cats
Dogs will need to be registered no later than their first mandatory protective vaccination against rabies, and cats no later than their 12th month of life.
Which animals should be registered?
It will be mandatory to register all dogs born after the system is implemented, as well as dogs and cats, including those born before that date, if they were introduced to circulation or were accepted into an animal shelter. The draft act introduces optional identification and registration – also of other dogs and cats at the request of the owner.
Will the dog and cat registration system come into force this year?
When would the regulations come into force? The planned date of adoption of the draft by the Council of Ministers, for the development of which the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MRiRW) is responsible, is the fourth quarter of 2024.
Is our country obliged to create such a database?
Interestingly, work is currently underway in the Council Working Party on Animals and Veterinary Issues (Animal Welfare) on a draft regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the welfare of dogs and cats and their traceability.
This project provides for:
1) the obligation to mark all dogs and cats with a subcutaneous transponder and to register them in a national database before they are supplied to the internal market;
2) creation of interoperable national databases of tagged dogs and cats.
“In connection with the above, Poland, as a Member State of the European Union, will be obliged to create a national database that meets the technical requirements specified in this regulation,” the Chancellery of the Prime Minister states.
