From July 1, 2022, a detention permit will be required in Wallonia to acquire an animal. All pets are concerned: dogs and cats, goldfish, hamsters and birds. For the Walloon animal and canine and feline breeding sector, this decree is discriminatory and will have serious consequences. “We are quite simply killing Walloon canine and feline breeding. It is not normal for a Walloon, to buy an animal, to be obliged to ask for a document… which in any case will not be used to nothing! If a family has to give up an animal for one reason or another (leaving on vacation, illness, etc.), they will keep their license and can therefore adopt a new animal” raises Jérôme Jennequin, boss of Entre Chiens et Chats (before the floods in Ensival and installed since February 2022 in Malmedy) and breeder of Bernese mountain dogs and golden retrievers. “We’re all for animal welfare, it has to come first. But there’s nothing that’s going to improve it here, it’s just going to create a big mess in the pet industry…with the risk of people losing their jobs if sales drop!” , he is indignant, adding that this does not in any way solve abuses such as clandestine breeding. The professional specifies that he is not against verifying the status of buyers, but that in the case of this permit, he does not even have the means of verifying (with an identity card) that the person presenting the document to him is the correct one. Léonard Monami, president of Andibel (which brings together pet businesses), calls for the creation of a collective “against the license to keep an animal”. He should soon take legal action against this decree ” discriminating against Walloon professionals in the animal world”.
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