Association after register of people not allowed to own pets
The Estonian Animal Protection Association has proposed creating a registry of people banned from keeping animals, prompting calls for thorough debate and review.
Under current Estonian law, courts can impose a ban on keeping animals for offenses such as animal abuse, neglect or repeated violations of animal welfare regulations.
However, according to Pille Tees, a board member of the Estonian Animal Protection Association, such bans have rarely been enforced in recent years. To make these bans more effective, the association believes a registry of individuals subject to such restrictions should be created.
"We have a penalty option that is either not being applied or only used in very marginal cases. Our goal is for the ban to actually be enforced and for there to be a way to check whether someone is subject to it — because, currently, if someone has a ban, no one really knows," said Tees. She compared the situation to losing one's driver's license: "It wouldn't make sense if there were no way to check whether someone had lost that right. It's the same with an animal ownership ban."
Tees added that a registry would also help prevent cases where a person under such a ban tries to acquire a new animal. In addition to animal welfare organizations, animal breeders could also be granted access to the registry, she said.
"Unfortunately, we have a certain group of people who repeatedly abuse animals. There are many cases where someone who has mistreated animals and had them taken away will soon acquire new ones, without facing any real consequences. Even when a ban is in place, no one checks whether it's being observed," said Tees.
The proposal to create a registry of animal ownership bans is one of several recommendations the Animal Protection Association has submitted to the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs as part of ongoing work to revise the Penal Code.
Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) told ERR that the idea deserves thorough consideration. No formal discussions have taken place yet and the ministry has not adopted a position or assessed any possible solutions.
Pakosta added that if the idea moves forward, several issues would need to be carefully weighed, including what kind of data could be collected and who would be allowed access. Broader questions would also need to be addressed, such as the proportionality and purpose of the registry, its practical necessity and what technical and administrative measures would be needed to ensure its operation, updates and security.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski, Mirjam Mäekivi
