PARLIAMENT APPROVED A FACELIFT IN THE LEGISLATION ON DOGS AFTER 10 YEARS OF DISCUSSION - WHAT APPLIES - Filenews 26/3 by Theodora Nikolaou
The Plenary Session of the House of Representatives approved the Dogs (Amendment) Law of 2026, after 10 years of discussions. The new law is a consolidated text of a government bill and law proposals, which have been discussed in recent years in the Parliamentary Committee on the Environment. The aim of the new legislation is to revise and update the framework for the ownership, management and protection of dogs, with an emphasis on responsible ownership, the limitation of strays and the more effective implementation of existing provisions.
The central axis of the consolidated text were three law proposals. The first, submitted by Charalambos Theopemptou on behalf of the Movement of Ecologists – Citizens' Cooperation, aims to address the abandonment of dogs and their uncontrolled reproduction. Among other things, it provides for a stricter procedure for declaring the death of a dog, with the obligation to present a certificate from a registered veterinarian, a reduction in the age limit for registration in the register, as well as an increase in annual occupation fees.
The second bill, submitted by MP Kostis Efstathiou, introduces criminal offenses for walking a dog without a leash attached to the collar, as well as for not having a bag to collect faeces.
The third proposal, submitted by Christos Christou, Linos Papagiannis and Sotiris Ioannou on behalf of ELAM, provides for the extension of the period of time between the arrest of a stray dog and the planned actions of the competent authority, as well as the replacement of the possibility of euthanasia with the delivery of the animal to a shelter.
At the same time, the government bill aims at a clearer distribution of responsibilities between the competent authorities and the introduction of preventive and repressive regulations, including procedures for the out-of-court settlement of offenses, with the aim of reducing the number of stray dogs.
In the course of discussions in recent years, the committee responsible has revised the consolidated text, in addition to making the following amendments:
1. Deletion of the provision for the deletion of the term "approved trap" and amendment of the basic law regulating the trapping of dogs, in order to ensure that the trapping and/or capture of dogs can be carried out either by a police officer, a gamekeeper or a person authorized by the competent authority, who places and uses traps or other means for the capture of dogs, or by a properly trained and authorized person by the Veterinary Services.
2. Amendment of the definition of the term "dangerous dog" to refer to a dog which, while outside its owner's premises or is wandering, manifests unprovoked and unjustified aggression towards humans or animals.
3. Determination of the annual fees for the issuance of dog licenses in the proposed law, so that they are not determined by the competent authority on a case-by-case basis, but are uniformly applicable in the Republic.
4. Addition of new categories of persons for whom the license to keep a dog is issued free of charge. In particular, the committee decided that, in addition to the owners of assistance dogs and the dogs of the security forces and other state services of the Republic, the license to keep one neutered dog per owner should be issued free of charge in case the owner of the dog is a low-income pensioner, in accordance with the provisions of the Guaranteed Minimum Income and Social Benefits Law in General [Law 109(I) of 2014].
5. Amendment of the provision regarding the declaration of death of the dog, so that the submission of a solemn declaration of the owner and the issuance of a death certificate by a private registered veterinarian within seven working days from the date of death of the dog is cumulatively required, thus tightening the relevant provision of the number 1 law proposal.
6. Enabling the competent authority, on a case-by-case basis, when issuing a dog ownership permit, to impose conditions that may relate to the dog's living space, in case the dog lives in a municipality or community other than that of its owner's permanent residence.
7. Deletion of the provision of the Basic Law that provides for the provision of compensation payable to the owner in case of killing of a dog due to the deletion of the provision that provides that in extremely urgent cases it can be killed, but also due to the deletion of the provision that provides for the method of killing the dog.
8. Delegation of specific exclusive responsibilities to private registered veterinarians.
9. Removal from the provisions of the law of the possibility of euthanasia in healthy dogs and its maintenance only in the event that the dog is found to be dangerous to the public or animals.
10. Enabling the competent authority on a case-by-case basis to grant a dog kept in a temporary storage facility to a new owner, only if the dog is marked, neutered and registered in the name of the owner in question.
11. Replace, where it is found in the basic legislation, the phrase "nuisance to the public" with the word "nuisance", adopting a relevant recommendation of the Legal Service of the Republic, thus facilitating the proof of the relevant offense before a court.
12. Amendment to impose an obligation that dogs must wear a collar with a disc on which the owner's license and telephone number are indicated.
13. Rewording of the envisaged transitional provision, so as to make it clear that it concerns dogs that were in the Republic until the date of entry into force of the amended law, instead of until the date of entry into force of the basic legislation. The committee made this rewording taking into account the information it received from the representative of the Veterinary Services about the existence of dogs belonging to a dangerous breed as provided for in the Fifth Table of the basic legislation, which, while they were in Cyprus on the date of adoption of the basic law, have not been sterilized within the time frame provided for in the provisions of the said law.
14. Exemption of hunting dogs from the obligation to remain tied with a leash attached to their collar within the permitted hunting areas, adopting a relevant recommendation of the Game and Fauna Service of the Ministry of Interior.
15. Increase in the amount of annual fees for the ownership of dogs, neutered or not, and addition of a category of neutered dogs of dangerous breeds.
16. Increase of reproduction fees per birth for marketing or other purposes.
17. Imposition of an obligation to register in the registration register kept by the director of all dogs over two months of age.
18. Amendment of the regulations establishing criminal offenses and their out-of-court regulations, so that, in addition to the provisions of law proposal number 2 that were incorporated in the text, the offense of failure to inform the competent authority regarding the loss or theft of a dog within two working days from the ascertainment of the loss or theft or regarding the finding of the dog within two working days from its discovery is established.
19. Establishment of the offense of refusing to hand over the dog to the competent authority, in the event that the latter, after ascertaining that the owner of the dog does not have premises or premises that ensure satisfactory living conditions for the category or breed of the dog, decides to confiscate it, setting the extrajudicial fine for the settlement of the said offense at €100 and a provision that the reasonable costs of the competent authority for carrying out the seizure shall be borne by the owner of the dog.
20. Reduction of the out-of-court fee provided for the failure to immediately remove the dog's feces and other impurities on any street or area from €300 to €100, adopting the recommendation of the Veterinary Services. The proposal of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities to increase the out-of-court fee for the offence of accompanying a dog on a walk without a bag for the collection of dog faeces from €50 to €100 and the increase of the out-of-court fee for the offence of failure to comply with the requirements governing the possession of a dog from €200 to €500 were rejected by the committee.
What applies to "assistance dogs"
It was unanimously decided to replace the definition of the term "assistance dog'' :
a. means a dog specially and appropriately trained to provide guidance in the performance of work, operation or activity directly related to disability and/or serious and/or chronic medical conditions that may endanger the life and/or safety of the operator, with the aim of enhancing his autonomy and/or functional independence.
b. includes guide dogs, assistance dogs for deaf or hearing-impaired persons, mobility or balance support dogs, medical alert or response dogs, psychiatric support dogs, and allergen detection dogs.
As far as the certification of the training of these dogs is concerned, the assurance of international certification by an organization recognized and included in the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) or by an organization recognized and a member of the Assistance Dogs International (ADI) organization that issues a relevant certificate is maintained.
At the same time, provision is made for the expansion of the categories of disability and/or medical conditions for which the license to keep the assistance dog is issued and renewed free of charge.
DISY requested a postponement and caused reactions
During the debate in the Plenary, Savvia Orfanidou stated that DISY is asking for a postponement and to return back to the Committee and for the Government to come to financially support the communities so that the legislation can be implemented regarding the shelters that must be created.
For his part, Charalambos Theopemptou said that this legislation has been discussed for three years. He stressed that it must be voted on and pressure must be exerted on the Government to create the shelters. He added that he believes that the postponement is requested due to the fact that the provision for euthanasia is deleted. In turn, Mr. Papadouris said that the postponement is requested for many phones that fell from morning until night. Irini Charalambidou said that it is unacceptable to go to postponement and endanger the dogs.
After the positions of the MPs, DISY withdrew the request for postponement. However, DISY abstained from passing the legislation as the party believes that it will not be implemented as it is.
What provisions are in place and what issues are pending
Mr. Theopemptou explained that the possession licenses are changing, the way in which the dog's license is renewed becomes clear, we have provisions for the living space, for what happens when a dog dies, there is for the first time the obligation to have the owner's details on the collar, we have removed the euthanasia that was the right of the local authorities to do it after 15 days, while we have added provisions for what happens with the leash during the dog's walk, etc. The big problem, however, is with the shelters. We have been hearing for many years that they are giving money to build five regional shelters, we have a problem with finding a site, with who will build them and that the money is too little to do such a job. We have a problem that the next parliament must solve regarding what an assistance dog means, as all laws have a definition in it. We have a huge problem with dangerous dog ads. Dangerous breeds have been banned since 2002 and 24 years later we are still full. We passed a law on dog kennels and the Government is not implementing it. These are some of the things that we have to regulate at some point. My request is that we pass the law and our next effort must be focused on the Government to build the shelters.
Kostis Efstathiou stated that one provision of the legislation concerns the use of a bag during the walk of dogs to collect their dirt.
Christos Orphanides, in turn, spoke about assistance dogs, explaining that this law "determines who the trained dog is. A puppy that will be able to provide assistance to a disabled person must be purchased from a specific certified dog family. The instructor must be certified to be able to provide such training. The cost ranges from €7,000 to €10,000 and will need to be sponsored by the state for those who need it. The license to own such a dog in countries that already exist is around €2,000 and is renewed every year, so again the state must contribute."
Nikos Kettiros, on behalf of AKEL, submitted an oral amendment to exempt hunting dogs from the use of leashes and bags in the areas determined by the competent authority by decree for training purposes.
ELAM MP Linos Papagiannis said that they will vote against the law, however they will vote for article 3 and article 10, i.e. for assistance dogs and the provision for euthanasia. There is an opinion that this can be done. The first problem we identify is the obsession with determining that dangerous dogs exist. A dog can only be dangerous when it has a dangerous owner. Furthermore, there is a dangerous provision regarding dogs and the occupation of hunting, because we will inconvenience hundreds of hunters in case a dog is in training is considered to be in a gray zone. There are many complaints about a number of provisions.
Alexandra Attalidou said that the law is a step in the right direction. We are moving from problem management to solution.
After a long debate, the Plenary Session of the Parliament approved the law with 24 votes in favour and 10 abstentions.
