Aanifeira joins the EU Dog and Cat Alliance

Aanifeira is very pleased to announce that it has become a member of the EU Dog and Cat Alliance.  The Alliance, newly launched on October 6th at the 16th International Companion Animal Welfare Conference (ICAWC) in Istanbul, has today 31 member organisations from across the European Union all of whom play an important role in dog and cat welfare in their own countries.

Sadly here in Europe there is currently little EU legislation to protect dogs and cats and the different member states are dealing with such issues as illegal breeding and trade, selective breeding, illegal movement across borders, inefficiencies with registering veterinary medicines etc.  With this in mind, the new Alliance was formed as a voice for all organizations to call for EU action in building a better Europe for these animals.

Major focus of the Alliance will be placed on these issues calling for:

Commercial Breeding and Trade

• EU legislation requiring the compulsory permanent identification and registration of dogs and cats on an appropriate database, which is linked to an EU database.
• EU legislation requiring the licensing of dog and cat breeders by Member States.

Movement across borders

• EU legislation requiring the compulsory permanent identification and registration of dogs and cats on an appropriate database, which is linked to an EU database.
• The proper enforcement of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport and related operations.

Veterinary Medicines and Medicated Feed

• The introduction of a true single market for veterinary medicines.

With the sole aim of improving animal welfare of dogs and cats, members will work together in monitoring and lobbying the European Union to introduce and improve EU legislation by engaging with other key EU stakeholders collaborating wherever possible; providing a forum for the sharing of information on these issues between members;  gathering evidence on dog and cat issues producing reports and briefings to support the Alliance’s position.

Aanifeira is absolutely delighted to have joined this Alliance and be part of a movement that will work to improve the conditions of the future of companion animals in Europe and hopefully help to provide a platform that will spread awareness on this issue around the world.   We hope that our work will reflect on the generations ahead of us that we need to preserve and respect all animal life.