Until the end of August this year, the regulation on health protection requirements for preschool institutions prohibited the presence of pets in group rooms. However, Education and Research Minister Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200) announced at a government press conference on Thursday that this provision has now been removed from the current regulation.

"One very sweet change is that pets are now allowed in kindergartens and daycare centers. That means you can bring a dog into a kindergarten room or take your turtle along for the day. Until now, this was prohibited. So from now on, pets are in fact allowed on the premises of kindergartens and daycare facilities," Kallas said.

Maila Rajamets, head of the ministry's early childhood education department, clarified that this does not mean pets will now be routinely brought into kindergartens. According to her, the matter is simply no longer regulated at the national level. This means that individual kindergartens can set their own rules in-house and any pet's presence must be agreed upon in advance — for example, as part of a planned pet day, while ensuring safety for all involved.

Maarja Tali, board member of the Estonian Assistance and Therapy Dogs Association, said she has not yet seen the background of the decision, but a number of concerns have already prompted her to write to the minister.

"First of all, kindergartens and schools are very challenging environments for animals. There's noise, bright light, fluctuating temperatures, and in such conditions, we usually can't provide an animal with species-appropriate behavior. We end up restraining them, which in turn can lead to behavior that might be dangerous to people," Tali explained.

She also pointed out that under Estonia's Pet Act, a pet is defined simply as an animal kept for human enjoyment, without specifying which species that includes. "This means that by allowing pets in kindergartens and schools under that definition, we could also be opening the door to wild or exotic animals, which dramatically increases the range of risks," Tali noted.

The association is also concerned about the possibility of animals carrying diseases and parasites. Tali emphasized that most vaccines developed for pets are recommended for owners but not legally required.

"What's more, our children are not born knowing how to properly care for or interact with animals in a safe and respectful way. That has to be taught. And if we start bringing just any animal into kindergartens or schools, the children certainly won't learn those skills on their own. The process must be guided and by knowledgeable people," Tali said.

Number of other requirements stripped

The ministry reviewed and updated the entire regulation, not just the section concerning pets. Several provisions were relaxed or removed altogether. For example, a clause regulating air pollution and noise levels was dropped from the general requirements, as these areas are already governed by other specific laws and regulations, primarily those concerning health and environmental standards.

Numerical space requirements for play areas were also eliminated. Instead of calculating a set number of square meters per child, the focus is now on ensuring that every child has sufficient space for all activities, both individual and group-based. Additionally, schools and daycare centers are no longer required to construct a physical shelter on their grounds, though there must still be some form of shelter available, which can be arranged in various ways.

The requirement to provide dedicated storage for strollers, sleds, bicycles and similar equipment has also been removed. Institutions can now decide for themselves how to manage this. Room finishing standards are now based on risk analysis and prescriptive rules, such as marking the first and last steps of staircases, have been dropped.

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