Notification of the keeping of animals
The Animal Welfare Act specifies the animal species that can be kept as production animals, circus animals or animals in touring animal shows. The new Animal Welfare Act entered into force on 1 January 2024 and it replaced the Animal Welfare Act of 1996.
If you are in possession of an animal species not mentioned in the list of animal species contained in the act that entered into force on 1 January 2024 and you were already in possession of the animal before 1 January 2024, you can keep this animal until its death. You must notify the Regional State Administrative Agency of the possession of the animal.
However, such production animals may no longer be used to produce new offspring.
The following mammal and bird species can be kept as production animals from 1 January 2024:
| Mammals | Birds |
| • cattle |
• chicken
|
Animal species other than mammals and birds can also be kept as production animals.
Following animal species can be kept as circus animals and in touring animal shows from 1 January 2024:
- domesticated forms of the following:
o dog, cat, goat, pig, horse, donkey and hybrids of horse and donkey - rat
- domesticated mouse
- guinea pig
- rabbit
- golden hamster
- gerbil
- chicken
- turkey
- goose
- duck
- domestic pigeon and laughing dove
- parrots
- invertebrates
If you are in possession of a wild animal that
- you already had on 31 December 2023 and
- that you were allowed to keep under the repealed Animal Welfare Act and
- that cannot be released to the wild or placed in a zoo,
you can keep the animal until its death.
However, you can only keep the animal if its possession is not prohibited or restricted under other laws. In other words, you must have a permit to keep the animal granted by an ELY Centre or the Finnish Wildlife Agency.
A notification of the keeping of animals was to be submitted to the Regional State Administrative Agency no later than on 30 June 2024. If you have not yet submitted the notification, please do so as soon as possible
- if you have, for production purposes, for a circus or for a touring animal show, an animal species that you may no longer keep under the new Animal Welfare Act that entered into force on 1 January 2024 but that was in you possession before the entry into force of the new act.
These production animal species include white-tailed deer, forest reindeer, roe deer, mountain hare, brown hare, capercaillie, black grouse, willow ptarmigam, bean goose, greylag goose, Canada goose, sika deer, red deer and greater rhea (common rhea).
- If you are in possession of a wild animal and the ELY Centre or the Finnish Wildlife Agency has granted you the permit to keep this animal and the animal was in your possession before the entry into force of the new act.
A link to the form is provided at the bottom of this page.
If you terminate your operations, submit a notification of termination in the e-service. A link to our online customer service portal is provided at the bottom of this page.
No fees are charged for the processing of the notification.