The draft bill informally agreed on Tuesday by the two institutions sets out the first ever EU standards for the breeding, housing, traceability, import and handling of cats and dogs.

Negotiators agreed dogs and cats kept in the EU, including these in private ownership, will be identifiable with a microchip and will be registered in interoperable national databases. Sellers, breeders and shelters will have four years to prepare for this, while for pet owners who do not sell animals, the measure will be mandatory after 10 years for dogs and after 15 years for cats.

Stopping commercial practices leading to abuses and health risks

Breeding between parents and their offspring, grandparents and grandchildren, as well as between siblings and half-siblings, will be banned according to the deal. MEPs also successfully negotiated a ban on the breeding of dogs or cats to give them exaggerated or excessive traits that lead to significant health risks.

The text also includes a prohibition on…