Identification and Registration as enforcement tool

Paolo Dalla VillaHuman-Animal Relationship and Animal Welfare Unit

Enforcement of European Animal Welfare Related LegislationBrussels, 12-13 June 2012

Animal Health and Welfare

Food safety

Public health and environment

Animal I&R and information systems

Epidemiological surveillance

Training & education

The Istituto G.Caporale main Fields of Activity

EU animal ID and R framework

• Directive 2008/71/EC on pig identification and registration (ex-92/102/EEC) • Regulation (EC) 1760/2000 on bovine identification and registration • Regulation (EC) 21/2004 on ovine and caprine identification and

registration

EU animal traceability ;• Individual identification of animals • On farm registers • National databases (fully operational) • Passports • Electronic identification • TRACES Intra-EU trade • Inter-operability of bovine databases (BOVEX pilot) 

Animal identification and animal traceability are tools for addressing animal health (including zoonoses).

These tools may significantly improve the effectiveness of activities such as: the management of disease outbreaks (..), vaccination programmes, (..),  disease surveillance, early response and notification systems, animal movement controls (..).

2011 ©OIE - Terrestrial Animal Health Code

“ABILITY TO TRACE THE HISTORY, APPLICATION, OR LOCATION OF AN ENTITY BY MEANS OF RECORDED

IDENTIFICATIONS”(US Environmental Protection Agency)

Registering the premises

Identifying the animals

Recording their movements

Traceability

FACTORS INFLUENCING EMERGENCE AND RE-EMERGENCE OF ANIMAL DISEASES(*)

(*) Data from a worldwide OIE survey among Chief Veterinary Officers in 2004(*) Data from a worldwide OIE survey among Chief Veterinary Officers in 2004

Istituto G. Caporale - Teramo

Dog I&R, a basic tool

• To ensure animal traceability, recording up-to-date movements (from birth to death);

• To provide data and information about dog population structure and composition;

• To prevent the negative effects of dog overpopulation on public health, animal health and welfare (stray animals);

• To minimize the societal costs of dog irresponsible ownership.

Is dog identification mandatory? (Tatoo or Chip)

www.carodog.eu National Legislation and Standards

YESAustria; Hungary; Bulgaria; Croatia; France; Portugal;

Serbia; Spain; Switzerland;

NOFinland;

Germany; Lithuania;

PARTLYNetherlands

Existing Databases for companion animals

www.carodog.eu

Austria: public data base for the registration of dogs; although chipping and registration are obligatory since 30th June 2009 the data base was installed only recently.

Hungary: there are not exact registration databases for companion animals, the MAOK (Hungarian Veterinary Chamber) has a database, which contains the immunized dogs.

Bulgaria: private and public databases, the public exists since 2010.

Croatia: Central Veterinary Information System (CVIS).

Finland: there are databases run by breeders associations, a browser run by the largest AW association in Finland in co-operation with several partners.

France: public, FICADO for dogs and SIEV for cats.

www.carodog.eu

Lithuania: Several Registration databases are managed by municipalities (no public access).

Portugal: There are two registration databases, public SICAFE (Sistema de Identificação de Caninos e Felinos), and the veterinarian’s union database SIRA (Sistema de Identificação e Registo de Animais).

Serbia: One public central registration database.

Spain: public, each one of the Autonomous communities The Database Derecho Animal, contains the legislation for each Autonomous Community.

Switzerland: ANIS is the private national database for registered dogs and cats.

Netherlands: Several private databases

FVE SURVEY on Identification of pets

What is the percentage of pets identified in your Country?

Marc Buchet FVE – Teramo CAROdog Workshop I&R , 2011

Dogs 5 – 90 % (average 50%)Cats 0 – 40 % (average 10%)Ferrets 0 - 10%

What about Germany?

• According to a survey from TASSO the average an animals shelter pays for 1 day for 1 animal is about 14 EUR.

• If a animal is not registered, the average waiting time, until the owners picks up his pet is 12 days.

• So an not registered animal produces average costs of 168 EUR per stay in the shelter

Philip McCreight TASSO – CAROdog Workshop I&R - Teramo , 2011

What does I&R in Germany save the shelters and municipalities

• By re-uniting 55.000 pets and owners a year the economic benefit sums up to 9,3 Million EUR a year.

• The registration of all dogs could save municipalities and animal shelters up to 20 Million EUR a year only in Germany

Philip McCreight TASSO – CAROdog Workshop I&R - Teramo , 2011

In 1991 Italy abandoned the “catch and kill” policy

A national framework law was released for “ the protection of pets and the prevention of animal abandonment”:

All dogs must be individually identified and registered by Local Veterinary Services;

Killing captured dogs is forbidden unless they are “seriously or incurably ill or proven to be dangerous”;

Captured dogs, if not reunited to the owner, have to be neutered, identified and kept for adoption in a public long term shelter.

Responsible ownership concepts must be promoted by the Competent Authorities;

Ministry of Health Ordinance, 2008

 • Official Vets and “accreditated” Private Practitoners shall register dogs within 2 months of age • An National Information System should dialogue with the 21 Regional Database systems • Microchip producers and distributors should be registered at the Ministry of Health (assigning

numerical series of electronic codes) • microchips could be only sold to Regional CAs, Local Health Units, “accreditated” Private Vets and

Faculties of Veterinary Medicine

In order to:

achieve an uniform application of the canine I&R at national level

register and identify the biggest number of animals in the shortest time

strengthen the stray dog population control measure 

prevent animal abandonment

minimize the risk of zoonosis transmission, dog aggressions episodes, public nuisance & economic loos for framers/breeders (compensation) 

control the animal movement

Annual report of Verona city dog shelter: prevalence of microchip on abandoned dogs

Source : Verona Local Veterinary Services

Istituto G. Caporale - Teramo

Currently in ItalyEach region hosts its own dog registry, and these

registers are not compatible amongst them.

The recorded data are transferred to the national level, sending files in batch mode

Main problems: Up-to-date traceability is only at regional level; The national database is only a list of dog codes (not a full I&R system); Only few information are recorded at national level (code, sex, race, date of birth)

Istituto G. Caporale - Teramo

THE ICT application architecture

Web users

File upload

Web services

File download

Tablets and smartphone

Web interface

Other already existing applications can exchange

data in real time, reading and writing information from/into

the dog I&R system

Istituto G. Caporale - Teramo

SMS notification The SMS notification services allows to receive the dogs’ file card simply texting the microchip code to a green number

Istituto G. Caporale - Teramo

Ongoing improvements

• integration of health data in the dog file; • development of an alert system on shelter

capacity; • development of application for low-cost mobile

devices (smartphone, tablets) that, connected with reader and using web services, can query the system and retrieve dogs’ file card and other relevant information in real time from field;

• broadening the I&R system to other pet species (cats and ferrets).

The ICT proposal, an efficient and costs saving Information System

• By ensuring data exchange in real time from regional to national level;

• By guaranteeing a complete and updated traceability at national level;

• By allowing different existing application to exchange data without changing the pre-existing platform or user interface.

EU Animal Welfare Strategy 2012-2015

• A non-legislative initiative

• Better compliance, enforcement of the existing legislation

• Pet animals included -> Study on the welfare of dogs and cats involved in commercial practices (2014)

Take home message……

Enforcement of laws will not, on its own, result in lasting, voluntary changes in behaviour,it needs to be supplemented by a range of non-regulatory approaches