Greek PM on draft legislation – Aim is for no animal be abandoned or abused

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday took to his social media accounts to detail his center-right government’s draft law on pet ownership in Greece, which includes legal changes long sought by animal rights groups in the country and abroad.

The draft legislation was ratified at the Parliament committee level this week and will soon reach the legislature’s floor for debate and a subsequent plenary vote.

Mitsotakis, whose office has repeatedly released photographs showing his adopted pet dog, “Peanut”, said not no animal shall be abandoned or abused, while animal abuse will be accompanied stricter penalties, and will now include acts such as abandonment, shooting strays, intentional injury and poisoning – a despicable behavior that is, unfortunately, not unheard of in the country.

Additionally, authorities will have access to a database of people convicted for animal abuse, one expected to be cross-referenced with the domesticated pet registry.

The draft bill also calls for DNA samples to be taken from pets, along with owners’ particulars, for storage in a databank, thereby dissuading people from abandoning their animals.