The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement to introduce, for the first time, EU-wide minimum standards for the welfare and traceability of cats and dogs.
Under the deal, all dogs and cats — including those already in private ownership — must eventually be identified via microchip and registered in interoperable national databases. Breeders, shelters and pet traders will face stricter rules covering housing, care, breeding practices and bans on practices such as inbreeding, docking or breeding for extreme traits.
Importantly, the regulation also aims to curb illegal trade by applying the new welfare and traceability requirements to pets imported from outside the EU — whether commercially or privately.
The provisional deal must still be formally adopted by both institutions before it becomes law, marking a significant shift — and the first unified regulatory framework across the EU for companion animals. (source: Rat der Europäischen Union)
Tail docking of hunting dogs under fire
In various European countries, the docking of tails is allowed as an exception for hunting dog breeds. Research has documented that working gundogs with docked tails experience significantly fewer severe tail injuries than undocked dogs when operating in dense cover, thorny vegetation or rough terrain. These studies report measurable reductions in fractures, deep lacerations and chronic lesions caused by repeated impact, especially in hunting disciplines that involve fast movement and vigorous tail action. With the new EU law on the horizon, this exception might be, again, threatened. Animal rights organisations are already actively advocating for a total ban.
Preserving hunting dog breeds
The proposal to ban the breeding of dogs with extreme conformation might sound like something that does not affect hunting dogs at all. However, this is not the case. While pugs and bulldogs are the first breeds that come to mind when thinking of „breeding for defect“, German pedigree dog breeders, at least, have been given an unpleasant “sneak preview” into the mindset of animal rights organizations.
In 2024, an implementing regulation was published (and then withdrawn for revision) in which numerous hunting dog breeds appeared: Dachshunds, Spaniels, Hounds, Terriers, and even Pointers were listed with defect traits, and thus excluded from shows, competitions, and even visiting sick or elderly people as therapy dogs. According to private organisations like the infamous QUEN, there is barely a breed that does not qualify as defective, with endless lists of genetic traits or visible characterists (like too long ears, to much/not enough hair, etc.) that might lead to suffering.
Restriction of breeding practices necessary for functional breeding
The breeding of hunting dogs is based on utility, and line breeding has always been a common and proven method of preserving characteristics. In combination with modern tools such as genetic testing, X-ray examinations, etc., linebreeding complies with animal welfare standards. Here, too, the proposed bans primarily affect ethical breeders of working dogs, as accidental matings between, for example, mother and son in private households or money-driven inbreeding in mass breeding operations (illegal puppy mills) based purely on appearance cannot be prevented in this way.
Furthermore, increasingly restrictive laws on housing and breeding are sounding the death knell for working lines as such. For serious breeding of hunting dogs, the breeder must maintain a stock of dogs, sometimes keeping several dogs from a litter, and above all, produce numerous litters in order to compare, select, and draw on genetics. Breeders with only one or two bitches cannot further develop a line; their lifetime is not long enough for that.
Full control over the number and movement of dogs—and therefore also people
Furthermore, all dogs must be registered in a database and their movements within the EU must be reported. In plain language, this means that owners must report in advance how many of their dogs will be crossing the border and when. This measure will not affect illegal transport, but it does allow for a total monitoring of the owners.