The House of Representatives passed the Dogs (Amendment) Law 2026 after a decade of debate, abolishing the euthanasia of healthy dogs and introducing a raft of new requirements for owners — though MPs warned that a critical piece of the puzzle, the construction of shelters, remains unresolved.
The law passed by 24 votes to zero, with 10 abstentions. DISY abstained, saying it did not believe the law would be implemented as written. The party had initially requested a postponement to give the government time to commit funding for the shelters required under the legislation, but withdrew the request following pushback from other MPs. ELAM voted against the law overall but supported the articles on assistance dogs and the euthanasia provision.
The legislation is a consolidated text combining a government bill with three private member bills. Charalambos Theopemptou of the Greens/Citizens’ Cooperation movement had proposed tougher measures on abandonment and uncontrolled reproduction, including a stricter death declaration procedure and higher annual ownership fees. Kostis Efstathiou introduced criminal offences for walking a dog without a lead and for not carrying a poo bag. ELAM MPs Christos Christou, Linos Papayiannis and Sotiris Ioannou proposed extending the time between a stray dog’s capture and the authority’s next steps, and replacing euthanasia with shelter surrender.
Among the key changes now in law: euthanasia of healthy dogs is abolished, with the option retained only where a dog is found to be dangerous to people or other animals. Dogs must wear a collar bearing a tag with the owner’s licence number and phone number. All dogs over two months old must be registered. Owners must report a dog’s loss or theft to the relevant authority within two working days, and its recovery within the same timeframe. The fine for refusing to surrender a dog to the authority is set at €100, while the fine for not picking up dog faeces has been reduced from €300 to €100. Annual ownership fees and breeding fees per litter have both been increased.
The definition of “assistance dog” has been significantly expanded to include guide dogs, hearing dogs, mobility and balance support dogs, medical alert and response dogs, psychiatric support dogs and allergen detection dogs. Certification must come from organisations recognised by the International Guide Dog Federation or Assistance Dogs International. Christos Orfanidis noted that assistance dogs cost between €7,000 and €10,000, and that annual licences in countries where such frameworks already exist run to around €2,000 — meaning state support would be needed for those who require them.
Hunting dogs are exempted from the lead requirement in designated hunting areas, following a recommendation from the Game and Fauna Service.
Theopemptou, who welcomed the vote, flagged the shelter question as the law’s major unresolved problem. Funding for five regional shelters has been discussed for years, he said, but obstacles remain over land, construction and the adequacy of the funds allocated. He also pointed to the failure to enforce the ban on dangerous breeds — in place since 2002 — and the non-implementation of previously passed legislation on dog breeding establishments. He called on the next parliament to address these issues as a priority.
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