Official data has revealed a significant gap in dog registrations in Cyprus, with only 187,425 animals recorded in the Veterinary Services registry.
The figure, provided by Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou in response to a parliamentary question from AKEL MP Marina Nikolaou, stands in stark contrast to data from the Cyprus Voice for Animals, which estimates that 250,000 dogs are abandoned on the island every year.
A separate database maintained by the Game and Fauna Service contains records for 50,246 dogs. Of these, 40,658 have valid permits, while owners have reported 1,409 as lost, 215 as stolen, and 7,964 as dead.
Authorities have stepped up enforcement, particularly within the hunting community. Between 2023 and 2024, more than 700 people were reported for legal violations involving hunting dogs. Mr Ioannou noted that to reach this number of citations, officers likely inspected at least six times as many hunters.
Municipalities are also conducting inspections, with some staff visiting licensed premises at least once a year and others carrying out targeted checks following complaints.
“According to existing legislation, microchipping animals is the responsibility of owners once a dog reaches six months of age,” the Minister said, adding that gaps in compliance have led to a high number of undeclared and unchipped animals.
To address the issue, the Interior Ministry is moving to amend the Protection and Management of Wild Birds and Game Law. The proposed changes will:
- Make microchipping mandatory for all hunting dogs regardless of age.
- Criminalise the failure to report a hunting dog’s loss or death.
- Criminalise the failure to report finding a hunting dog.
- Penalise owners for unaccompanied hunting dogs during both hunting trips and training.
The Ministry is also working to link the Game and Fauna Service database with the Veterinary Services registry. This integration is expected to allow authorities to quickly identify owners of dogs found stray or dead.