"The biggest pitfall is once again the voluntary nature: although the new law attempts to register all people who breed or trade in pets in order to ensure that animals can be tracked, it is de facto still rather toothless. For example, there is no EU-wide mandatory and uniform registration of breeders and traders. However, as most animals are traded across borders, national databases should at least be more closely linked. If we were then to include breeders' registration numbers in a pet register, it would actually be possible to track every single animal - and put a stop to the illegal trade. Germany could set a good example here and introduce mandatory registration. At the moment, we are lagging behind and missing important steps to protect our animals and therefore also our health.

The new Animal Health Act is intended to strengthen EU-wide protective measures against transmissible animal diseases such as rabies, ringworm and parasites. At the same time, illegal trade is to be made more difficult.

"In most cases, the illegal trade means suffering and danger for humans and animals: the animals are often too young, sick and hyped up for the day of sale. A few days later, they collapse completely. In addition, the animals are often not examined by a vet, let alone vaccinated. This poses great dangers for us humans, as infectious diseases can quickly spread from animals to humans. Unfortunately, there is currently little that can be done to stop the illegal trade: Profit margins are high and the risk of being caught is relatively low. The Animal Health Act can help to get the situation under control - but without binding EU-wide measures, the situation will not change much".