Ministry moves forward with ban on keeping dogs tethered up
A draft law aims to ban the tethering of dogs in Estonia.
The bill is being drafted at the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture and has been taking in opinions from stakeholders, to amend the existing legislation, the Animal Protection Act.
A key point has been a ban on keeping dogs on chains, for instance outside in a yard. Animal welfare advocates and vets want the transition period to a full ban to be shorter than the currently proposed 10 years, ideally taking place within five years.
Minister for Regional Affairs and Agriculture Hendrik Johannes Terras (Eesti 200) said the main concern remained animal welfare, noting that the transitional period takes into account some dogs sadly already being so accustomed to being chained up, that a sudden change would not be realistic.
"Right now, our main concern is for those dogs who have already spent a long time on chains, where realistically the only options are either building a separate outdoor enclosure or keeping them indoors. We shouldn't cling to the hope that old dogs can be retrained en masse — that's unrealistic. A suggestion heard at the meeting was to set the transition period at five years. The ministry is listening to animal welfare organizations, and will shorten the transition period for the tethering ban in the draft," Terras said, via a ministry press release.
Animal welfare organizations would also like to hold more detailed discussions on requirements for keeping animals in shelters going forward. This would include an obligation for shelters to obtain an activity permit. Since animal foster homes and shelters differ substantially in nature, the ministry's updated proposal now separately specifies foster homes and foster-home mediators operating on behalf of shelter providers, the aim being to ensure flexible requirements for stakeholders, while still guaranteeing good living conditions for rescued animals. It is vital to first obtain a full overview of shelter capacities, and then harmonizse the baseline standards for their operation, the ministry found.
A meeting held Tuesday chaired by Terras reviewed planned changes to animal welfare law. "Thank you to everyone who has reviewed the draft bill and provided thorough feedback, and to those who took part in the meeting. We all share the same goal — ensuring animal welfare. Some views on how best to achieve this still need alignment, but overall we are moving in the same direction," Terras said.
More luridly, the amendments will also address the topic of zoophilia. The ministry is still awaiting an opinion from the University of Tartu's law faculty in regard to a section in the bill which would ban this.
Once the final wording and explanatory memorandum have been revised, the draft will be sent to the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs for approval. It is due to reach the Riigikogu no earlier than next May.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
