Content of the Hunting Act
 

The Hunting Act grants legal protection to domestic cats throughout Finland and prohibits abandoning a cat that has been acquired as a pet. Therefore, a domestic cat CANNOT be killed or euthanized by anyone other than its owner. Only a feral cat may be killed by the landowner or the holder of hunting rights, but it must be remembered that not every cat roaming free is a feral cat. The law requires that a feral cat be identified based on its behavior and habitat; for example, it procures all of its food from nature.

Need for Reform
 

Legal protection should be extended to cover all cats, because practice has shown that a tame cat in a trap is difficult to distinguish from a feral cat.