Against killing of strays within the European Union

To the European Parliament
in its total of all representatives
of the Member States of the European Union

Petition on the welfare of pets and stray animals in Europe

According to the written declaration by Alain Hutchinson, David Hammerstein and Neil Parish on the welfare of pets and stray animals

as well as in knowledge of the applicable European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals (CETS No.125),

and fully aware of Rule 116 of its Rules of Procedure,

we request on the European Parliament, on the Commission and Council and on its President

A. whereas there is no uniform or specific text relating to the protection of pets and stray animals that applies to all the Member States,

B. whereas the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals is incomplete and has not been signed by all the Member States,

C. whereas in many Member States there are still cases of mistreatment of pets and stray or abandoned animals,

1. to introduce measures to ensure that Member States impose severe punishments on people who abandon or mistreat a pet or a stray animal, and to mandate Member States to put in place a system of management at national level for collection, sterilization and vaccination;

2. to call upon all the Member States to sign the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals and to adopt the new measures;

3. to sanction any Member States that fail to comply with the above Convention and the new measures to be adopted;

4. to forward this declaration, together with the names of the signatories, to the parliaments of the Member States, the Council and the Commission.


Above this written declaration on the welfare of pets and stray animals

and in knowledge of the European Parliament resolution of 22 May 2008 on a new animal health strategy for the European Union 2007-2013 (2007/2260(INI))

we claim

1) the implementation of these measures shall in no case be conducted by total or partial adoption of or in dependence of the recommended “euthanasia program” of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) (named: “STRAY DOG POPULATION CONTROL“ formulated by the Terrestrial Animal Health Standards Commission (Report October 2008) and revised in March 2009);

2) NOT to approve or to enact the implementation of killing pounds or killing shelters, or reception camps where animals are killed as well as killing actions against stray animals and free roaming pets plus the killing of pets and stray animals being captured in shelters or camps after a certain time limit;

3) to ban the killing of pets and domestic animals in the non-food sector according to the OIE standard like using captive bolt methods and pithing, exsanguinations, gassing, eletrocution or by clubbing and furthermore poisoning, culling, wirering and other painful inhumane methods;

4) to ban the killing of pets and domestic animals in the non-food sector by hunting;

5) to ban all activities of stray animal hunters and catchers and payment of “coat prizes.”

6) NOT to deliver the arbitrament about killing of pets and stray animals to local administrative authorities of counties, townships and counties but instead to use for such occasions educated and specialized personnel like veterinarians:

7) to catch strays only for the purposes of vaccination, sterilization, reassignment or re-owning to new owners or to give charity to them,

8) the ban of catching strays for the purposes of delivery or sale to research and/or experimental laboratories,

9) to establish comprehensive vaccination und sterilization programs,

10) to define monitoring measures for controlling breeders of pet and other animals in the non-food sector;

11) the implementation universally valid guidelines for associations of breeders;

12) to ban the breeding of pets and other domestic animals (dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats etc.) in pure commercial and profit-making purpose;

13) to ban the breeding or selling of domestic animals and pets of breeders who are not organized in of the EU accepted associations (requires No. 11)) and who keep/breed animals in abusive manner.

14) to ban mass productions of animals, e.g. so called puppy mills

15) to ban the import of puppies (dogs) and kittens (cats)

16) to support animal shelters and animal welfare organisations in animal welfare actions like castration programs or educational advertising within the citizenship;

17) to implement animal welfare as subject in schools,

18) the establishment of educational programs on responsible pet ownership to ensure responsible and careful handling of animals,

19) to renounce the accession as member of the OIE, to ensure the independency and autonomy of the EU from any lobbyists groupings and to guarantee a high level animal welfare in the EU further on in future.


We thank you for considering our claims!

Sincerely,