After ten years of debate, Cyprus has a new dog law. The House of Representatives passed the Dogs (Amendment) Law 2026 this week, bringing significant changes for dog owners, stray dog management and assistance dog users. Here is what you need to know.
What do I now have to do as a dog owner?
Several new obligations apply. Your dog must wear a collar with a tag showing your licence number and phone number at all times. All dogs over two months old must be registered. If your dog dies, you must submit a signed declaration and obtain a death certificate from a registered private vet within seven working days. If your dog goes missing or is stolen, you must notify the relevant authority within two working days — and notify them again within two working days if you find it.
When walking your dog, you must keep it on a lead attached to its collar and carry a bag to pick up its faeces. Both are now criminal offences if ignored. Hunting dogs are exempt from the lead requirement in designated hunting areas.
Annual ownership fees have increased, as have breeding fees per litter. If you breed dogs for sale or other purposes, the new fees apply per litter.
What are the fines?
Not picking up your dog’s faeces carries an on-the-spot fine of €100 — reduced from the previously proposed €300. Refusing to hand over your dog to the authority when ordered to do so also carries a fine of €100, and the cost of the seizure falls on you as the owner. Failing to notify the authority of your dog’s loss, theft or recovery within the required two working days is also a criminal offence under the new law.
What changes for stray dogs?
The most significant change is the abolition of euthanasia for healthy dogs. Previously, local authorities could euthanise stray dogs after 15 days. Under the new law, euthanasia is only permitted where a dog is found to be dangerous to people or other animals. Stray dogs must instead be surrendered to a shelter.
The definition of a “dangerous dog” has also been revised. A dog is now considered dangerous only if, while outside its owner’s property or roaming free, it displays unprovoked and unjustified aggression towards people or animals.
Dogs transferred to a new owner from a temporary holding facility must be microchipped, neutered and registered in the new owner’s name before the transfer can take place.
What about shelters?
This is where the law runs into difficulty. The abolition of euthanasia only works if there are shelters to take in stray dogs — and that infrastructure does not yet exist. Funding for five regional shelters has been discussed for years, but obstacles remain over land, construction and the adequacy of the funds available. DISY abstained from the vote precisely because the party does not believe the law can be implemented without the government first committing to build the shelters. MP Charalambos Theopemptou, one of the law’s main architects, acknowledged the problem and called on the next parliament to make the shelters its priority.
What counts as an assistance dog?
The law significantly expands the definition of an assistance dog to include guide dogs for the visually impaired, hearing dogs for deaf or hard-of-hearing people, mobility and balance support dogs, medical alert and response dogs, psychiatric support dogs and allergen detection dogs. The dog must be trained to assist with a disability or serious chronic medical condition that may endanger the handler’s life or safety.
Certification must come from an organisation recognised by the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) or Assistance Dogs International (ADI). MP Christos Orfanidis noted that such dogs cost between €7,000 and €10,000, and that annual licences in countries where similar frameworks exist run to around €2,000 — meaning state support will be needed for those who cannot afford these costs. The law provides for assistance dog licences to be issued free of charge for a wider range of disabilities and medical conditions, and also extends the fee waiver to low-pension recipients for one neutered dog.
What is still unresolved?
Several significant problems remain. Dangerous breeds have been banned since 2002, but enforcement has been poor — Theopemptou noted that 24 years later the island remains full of them. Legislation on dog breeding establishments was passed previously but has not been implemented by the government. The advertising of dangerous dogs also remains a problem. Theopemptou said these issues, along with the shelters, must be tackled by the next parliament.
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