Cyprus Authorities Tighten Controls on Hunting Dogs

Minister of Interior Constantinos Ioannou reported that 50,246 dogs are registered in the official database of the Game and Fauna Service. Of these, 40,658 have valid permits, 1,409 are listed as missing, 215 as stolen, and 7,964 as deceased.

These figures contrast sharply with estimates from the animal welfare organization Cyprus Voice for Animals, which claims that up to 250,000 dogs may be abandoned on the island annually.

In 2023–2024, more than 700 people were prosecuted for violations of legislation related to hunting dogs. According to the minister, to identify this number of violations, inspectors checked at least six times as many owners.

Municipalities also conduct regular inspections—both scheduled and in response to complaints.

The Ministry of Interior is preparing amendments to the law on the protection and management of wild fauna. Plans include:

• making microchipping mandatory for all hunting dogs regardless of age;
• introducing criminal liability for failing to report the loss or death of a hunting dog;
• introducing liability for failing to report a found hunting dog;
• fining owners for hunting dogs found unaccompanied during hunting or training sessions.

Furthermore, authorities are working on integrating the Game and Fauna Service database with the Veterinary Services registry. This will allow for faster identification of owners of found or deceased animals.

The ministry emphasizes that the key problem remains the low level of compliance with microchipping requirements, leading to a large number of unregistered animals.