The Animal Welfare Act safeguards the status of the cat, as it does for many other animal species. Under the law, a cat is a sentient being whose welfare must be ensured by its owner—food, water, a safe environment, and enrichment are among its fundamental rights.​

​

​

Here are selected sections regarding cats from the new Animal Welfare Act. (Opinions on the new decrees have not yet been requested.)

​

Section 1 — Purpose of the Act

The purpose of this Act is to promote animal welfare and to protect animals in the best possible way from harm to their welfare. The purpose of the Act is also to increase respect for animals and their good treatment.

​

Section 3 — Implementation of European Union legislation and international conventions

Paragraph 10: European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals (SopS 49/1992) – This convention is now integrated into the new Animal Welfare Act, so it no longer looms as a separate regulation, and no one can invoke it anymore!
 

Section 5 — Definitions

Paragraph 1: Animal welfare means an animal’s experience of its own physical and mental state.
 

Section 6 — General principles

Animals must be treated well and with respect. Animals must not be caused unnecessary pain or suffering, nor may their welfare be unnecessarily endangered.

An animal under care must not be left without care or abandoned. – According to the legislative rationale, keeping a cat free-roaming as such is not considered abandonment of the animal if the cat keeper takes care of the cat's other care, or if they have temporarily transferred responsibility for the cat's care to another party. The abandonment or neglect of a cat, as well as the permissibility of keeping a cat unleashed, are evaluated separately under the Hunting Act and the Public Order Act.

​

Section 7 — Assisting sick and injured animals

A domestic animal or other animal under human care that is sick, injured, or otherwise in a helpless state must either be assisted personally or reported to its owner, keeper, or the supervisory authority.

​

Section 8 — Restrictions on keeping animal species and individual animals

… as companion or hobby animals … only such animals and animal species may be kept whose keeping, based on available scientific knowledge and practical experience, can be arranged so that:

Paragraph 1: animals have the opportunity to express their essential behavioral needs related to movement, rest, body maintenance, foraging, and other similar activities, as well as social relationships;

Paragraph 2: the animals' physiological needs can be met.
 

Section 11 — Responsibility for animal welfare in certain cases

A child under 16 years of age cannot be solely responsible for an animal's welfare.

Section 12 — General requirements for treatment

An animal must be treated calmly. In the handling and training of an animal, effort must be made to utilize its species-specific behavior.

​

Section 13 — Prohibited treatment

An animal must not be handled or trained roughly or otherwise in a manner that causes unnecessary pain or suffering. An animal must not be tied up in a manner that causes unnecessary pain or suffering. An animal must not be dyed to alter its appearance.

​

Section 20 — General requirements for care

Animals must be cared for in such a way that they have the opportunity to fulfill their essential behavioral needs related to movement, play, rest, body maintenance, eating, foraging, exploring the environment, and social relationships.

​

Section 21 — Feeding and watering

When feeding and watering animals under care, the physiological needs of the animal must be taken into account, ensuring that the animal receives an appropriate quantity of good-quality food and water or other drink. The composition and manner of offering food and drink must correspond to the animal's physiological needs and essential behavioral needs.

​

Section 26 — Stray animals

The municipality must have a shelter for the temporary care of dogs, cats, and other small companion and hobby animals found roaming loose and impounded within its territory.
 

The shelter must check whether the stray animal has an identification mark or other identifier and take reasonable steps to notify the owner or other keeper of the impoundment. If the owner or keeper is unknown, a notice regarding the impoundment and distinguishing features of the animal must be published on the shelter's website. A sick or injured animal must be provided immediately with the necessary first aid and other reasonable and appropriate treatment to treat the illness or injury.

A stray animal must be kept for at least 15 days from the date the animal's owner or keeper was notified of the impoundment, or from when the notification referred to in paragraph 2 was published. After this, the municipality has the right to sell, rehome, or euthanize the animal.
 

The municipality must compile and publish statistics on impounded stray animals annually.

Section 39 — Import prohibition and return of puppies and kittens

A dog or cat puppy/kitten under six months of age may not be imported into Finland from outside the European Union or from a European Union Member State if the intention is to sell or otherwise transfer ownership of the puppy/kitten in Finland within four months of import.
 

Customs may order a dog or cat puppy/kitten referred to in paragraph 1 to be returned to the country of origin.
 

Section 42 — Restrictions on the transfer of animals

Vertebrate and cephalopod animals may not be kept for sale at outdoor markets, fairs, or public events other than those intended for animal exhibitions. Furthermore, the aforementioned animals may not be sold in mobile trade.
 

An animal for sale must not be kept in a shop window. Dogs, cats, ferrets, as well as macaws, African grey parrots, amazons, and other large parrot species may not be sold in pet shops.
 

An animal may not be given away as a raffle or contest prize.

An animal may not be transferred to a person under 16 years of age without a guardian's consent.