Cyprus, along with Lithuania, Luxembourg and Malta, have presented a position paper proposing the creation of a new EU legislative framework for an EU Positive List for the keeping of companion animals or pets, during Tuesday’s Agriculture and Fisheries Council of the European Union in Brussels.
The proposal, presented on behalf of the four countries by Cypriot Minister Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment Kostas Kadis during a public session of the Council, would see the creation of a “positive list” which would contain a limited number of animal species that can be kept by private citizens as pets, as opposed to a “negative list” which would simply list all species that are banned.
In a statement made after the meeting, Kadis said that almost all of member states supported the proposal.
Kadis added that the European Commission said it will be working on drafting a legislative proposal which will include the creation of a positive list as per the Cypriot proposal.
In his speech during the open discussion earlier in the day, Kadis had pointed that the current Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is highly significant in regulating the trade of species at-risk, but “cannot safeguard many wild animal populations that are targeted through the exotic pet trade”.
Kadis had also said that already a number of EU countries have adopted a Positive List, but pointed out that “in order to have a significant impact on biodiversity conservation and animal welfare and protect public health and safety, a coordinated effort is needed at EU level.
In this context, Cyprus, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Malta call on the Commission “to explore the potential benefits of adopting an EU-wide Positive List, which will be based on the experiences gained by those Member States who have implemented this system,” Kadis added.
Kadis also said during his speech that millions of wild animals every year are captured from their natural habitats and sold around the world. “It is well-documented that the trade in exotic species is one of the main threats to biodiversity, placing many species in danger of extinction,” he said.
“According to IUCN, the world’s leading organisation on conservation, one in four mammal species and one in eight species of birds, face a high risk of extinction. Biodiversity may also be impacted in the case where wild species escape or are released by their owners into the wild” he added, pointing out that according to estimates by the European Commission, the cost of controlling and managing the damages from invasive species in the EU is 12 billion euro annually.
“Wild animals have not evolved to live with humans as pets, and suffer greatly when captured, transported and placed in captivity. Furthermore, wild animals have complex social, behavioural, and nutritional needs that make it extremely difficult for individual owners to provide them with the care they need and, as a result, they are often abandoned” the minister said.
“It is estimated that more than 70% of all zoonotic diseases originate from wild animals. If wild animals become pets, their close proximity to human owners drastically increases the danger of spillover,” Kadis pointed out, noting also that many wild animals that are kept as pets pose a serious threat to people’s safety.
Source: Cyprus News Agency