Filenews 19 February 2026 - by Vassos Vassiliou
The pan-European regulation that is also being promoted in Cyprus and concerns the welfare and traceability of dogs and cats, prohibits incest (with exceptions) while crossing with wild species is also prohibited. The daily walk of the animals as well as microchipping are mandatory.
More specifically, as MP Charalambos Theopemptou told Filenews, the regulation, which aims at the minimum standards of well-being for business premises, provides for the following:
• Reproduction regulation: frequency and minimum/maximum age limits, restrictions on practices that harm health.
• Prohibition of specific breeding practices such as incest (with a limited exception to protect local breeds with a small genetic pool) and prohibition of hybrids (crossing with wild species).
• Prohibition of painful amputations (e.g. ear/tail cutting, nail removal) unless there is a medical indication.
• Basic care requirements: adequate water/food/shelter, and for dogs daily access to the outdoors or daily walking (for ages > 8 weeks).
• Prohibition of keeping dogs/cats in "containers" and provision of minimum spaces.
• Obligation to have adequately trained staff: at least one caregiver per facility with training approved by the competent authorities, and veterinary visits/follow-ups.
• Measures for "extreme characteristics": dogs/cats with extreme morphological characteristics associated with a serious risk to welfare are excluded from breeding and from participation in exhibitions/competitions.
• Provision that Member States can have stricter rules.
As Mr. Theopemptou mentioned, a key question is whether Cyprus will be ready in 2028 to implement all the provisions required. Already on 25 November 2025, the Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional political agreement on the implementation of the regulation.
Mr. Theopemptou also explains that based on the information provided by the Commission Representation in Cyprus, the Regulation is expected to be published in the Official Journal within 2026 and to start applying two years later, with individual transitional periods for specific obligations.
He further explains that for Cyprus the big step is:
Mandatory identification/registration for cats as well, as should be done for dogs, upgrading the national database to be interoperable at EU level, and strengthening controls on breeders/sellers/shelters.
The Regulation aims to resolve the uneven protection of dogs/cats in the Member States, illegal sales (especially online) and the inability to trace origin.
The proposed solution consists of a single framework that includes minimum welfare standards for business premises and mandatory micro-labelling as well as recording (with interoperable databases) to "close" the gaps exploited by the illegal trade.
The new rule is Regulation will be applicable simultaneously in all member states.
Nevertheless, Member States need to organise controls, competent authorities, sanctions, databases and practical procedures to make it work in practice.
As Mr. Theopemptou explains, today there are significant differences between countries in terms of the following:
• who is considered a "professional" breeder,
• minimum/maximum ages and frequency of reproduction,
• whether and how dogs/cats are recorded in national databases,
• rules for online classifieds;
This creates:
• incentives to "fight down" in well-being standards,
• difficulty in tracing origin in cases of disease/mistreatment,
• a favourable environment for illicit trade.
• Obligation for dogs and cats to be recognizable by microchip.
• Before the sale or donation/adoption, micro-marking and recording in a national database must be made.
• National databases will be interoperable and accessible online to authenticate and trace across borders.
• Furthermore, a verification system will be created so that the prospective buyer can check that the ad corresponds to real, registered animals.
Mr. Theopemptou stated that Cyprus already has a legal framework for dogs that provides for their mandatory registration, permanent marking as well as keeping a register by the Director of Veterinary Services.
As far as cats are concerned, the new Regulation provides for mandatory micro-tagging/registration in a pan-European "model"), interoperability of the Cypriot base with the rest of the EU and welfare rules for professional establishments with inspections/training/sanctions.
