Progressive ban on wild animals in circuses and dolphinariums, sale of puppies and kittens in prohibited animal shops … The National Assembly adopted definitively, Tuesday November 16, and almost unanimously, a bill from the presidential majority for ” fight against animal abuse “. One hundred and eighteen deputies voted for, one against – the LR Anne-Laure Blin – and four abstained. The text must still pass before the Senate on Thursday.
Assembly and Senate had reached an agreement on this text which also provides for tougher penalties for abuse or abandonment. One in two French people owns at least one pet, but each year some 100,000 animals are abandoned. With this bill, welcomed by animal protection associations, “we have caught up with our delay” on our European neighbors, welcomed its co-author and professional veterinarian Loïc Dombreval (LREM). Here are the main points of the text.
A certificate for pets
The French own more than nine million dogs, fifteen million cats, a million equines. But they are also the European champions of abandonment. Article 1 of the bill provides that “any person transferring a pet for payment or free of charge insures” that the purchaser signs a “certificate of commitment and knowledge of the specific needs of the species”. The precise content of this certificate will be defined by decree. The idea is to fight against abandonment by providing better information on the needs and costs (food, veterinary fees, education, etc.) related to owning a dog, cat or horse. Parental consent will be required for any acquisition of a pet by a minor.
Concerning stray cats, the State and voluntary communities will be able to articulate their actions in terms of sterilization, within the framework of agreements, on an experimental basis for five years. The question of a possible obligation of sterilization by the municipalities, initially planned, was a bone of contention between the Assembly and the Senate.
The end of cats and dogs in pet stores
It will be prohibited to sell or give away cats and dogs in pet stores from 2024. But these stores may present abandoned cats and dogs collected by associations, from which it will be possible to acquire them. The display in pet shops of animals visible from a road open to public traffic will no longer be permitted.
In principle, it will also be prohibited to sell pets on the internet, except for breeders, in specific online sections. Platforms not implementing a prior checking system may be fined 7,500 euros. Finally, it will be prohibited to send live vertebrate animals by post.
A tougher punishment for mistreatment
The text toughens the penalties for mistreatment, up to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of 75,000 euros in the event of the animal’s death. The fact, publicly or not, of exercising serious abuse, or of a sexual nature, or of committing an act of cruelty towards a domestic or tamed animal, will henceforth be punished by three years of imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros. . The recording of images will also be penalized. Committing these facts in the presence of a minor, or being the owner or guardian of the animal, will be an aggravating circumstance. There is also a range of penalties for “intentional attacks on the life of an animal”, and an aggravated penalty for abandonment in the event of immediate risk of death.
The progressive end of wild animals in traveling circuses
It will be forbidden to acquire wild animals and to breed them with a view to presenting them to the public in traveling circuses within two years after the promulgation of the law. It will also be prohibited to detain them within seven years, which concerns 800 wild animals, including 450 wild animals. Reception solutions should be offered to their owners. The proposed law also prohibits the exhibition of animals in private parties and discotheques. The presentation of wild animals on television will be prohibited, except for zoos and farms. Bear and wolf trainers will no longer be able to exhibit these species during traveling shows.
Within five years, the detention and reproduction of cetaceans in captivity will no longer be permitted, as will their participation in shows. Two establishments (Planète Sauvage, Marineland) have a total of 21 dolphins and four orcas in France. In addition, pony rides will be prohibited.
The closing of the last mink farm
The last American mink farm will be closed without delay. The French Fur Federation denounces a political use of the health crisis, after the slaughter in 2020 of animals from a farm affected by Covid-19, while the remaining farm is “healthy and regularly checked”. The sector “calls on parliamentarians to seize the Constitutional Council”.