A new EU-wide regulation on the welfare and traceability of dogs and cats is set to ban inbreeding, cross-breeding with wild species and painful mutilations such as ear-cropping, tail-docking and declawing — and Cyprus faces a key question: will it be ready to implement all the requirements by 2028?
The regulation, which targets professional breeding and selling establishments, was the subject of a provisional political agreement between the Council and the European Parliament on 25 November 2025.
It is expected to be published in the Official Gazette during 2026 and to take effect two years later, with transitional periods for specific obligations.
MP Charalambos Theopemptou, who outlined the regulation’s provisions to Phileleftheros, said Cyprus’s biggest challenge will be extending mandatory microchipping and registration — currently required for dogs — to cats, upgrading its national database to be interoperable across the EU, and strengthening inspections of breeders, sellers and shelters.
What the regulation requires
The rules cover breeding, daily care, staffing and the physical conditions in which animals are kept. On breeding, the regulation sets limits on frequency and the minimum and maximum ages at which animals may be bred.
Inbreeding is banned, with a narrow exception for local breeds with small gene pools. Cross-breeding with wild species is also prohibited.
Mutilations carried out for cosmetic or non-medical reasons — including ear-cropping, tail-docking and declawing — are banned outright. Dogs and cats may not be kept in containers, and minimum space requirements will apply.
Dogs over eight weeks old must have daily access to outdoor space or a daily walk. Each establishment must have at least one trained carer whose training has been approved by the relevant authorities, along with regular veterinary visits and monitoring.
Animals with extreme physical traits linked to serious welfare risks — such as severely flattened faces — will be excluded from breeding and from shows and competitions. Member states may go further and set stricter national rules.
Closing the gaps in illegal trade
The regulation is designed to address three problems that vary widely across the EU: uneven welfare protections, illegal sales — particularly online — and the inability to trace where an animal comes from.
Before any dog or cat is sold, donated or rehomed, it must be microchipped and registered in a national database. Those databases will be interoperable across the EU and accessible online, enabling cross-border traceability.
A verification system will allow prospective buyers to check that an advert corresponds to a real, registered animal.
Theopemptou noted that significant differences currently exist between member states — over who qualifies as a professional breeder, what age and frequency limits apply to breeding, how animals are registered, and what rules govern online adverts.
These gaps, he said, create incentives for a race to the bottom on welfare standards, make it harder to trace the origin of animals in cases of disease or abuse, and provide fertile ground for illegal trade.
Where Cyprus stands
Cyprus already has a legal framework for dogs that includes mandatory registration, permanent identification and a registry maintained by the Director of Veterinary Services. Cats, however, are not currently subject to equivalent requirements.
Under the new regulation, cats will for the first time be subject to mandatory microchipping and registration under an EU-wide model, with Cyprus’s database required to be interoperable with those of other member states.
Professional establishments keeping cats will also face inspections, staff training requirements and sanctions.
Theopemptou said the key question is whether Cyprus will be ready to have all the necessary systems in place by 2028.
