The project to introduce the identification and registration of pets, initiated by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine in collaboration with the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection and the Ministry of Digital Transformation, was first presented to pet owners at the largest dog owners' festival, "Pesyky Fest," in Kyiv.
The opening lecture of this year’s festival was delivered by Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Denys Bashlyk, who announced the launch of the Unified State Register of Pets and explained the value of the project for pet owners.
“The project primarily involves changes in the procedure for issuing veterinary passports and their digitization. Previously, only state veterinary medicine institutions were authorized to issue official documents for animals. With the launch of the project, the issuance of veterinary documents will become digitized, transparent, and accessible, and state-standard passports will be available not only at state but also at private veterinary clinics that join the project.
An integral part of the project is the launch of the Unified State Register of Pets. Pet owners will be able to register their pets in the Register during visits to veterinarians, thereby creating an electronic veterinary passport. This will store all information about the animal, including vaccination history, so if the paper veterinary passport is lost, the data can be recovered from the Register.
The second pressing issue that we will begin to address is the lack of verified state infrastructure for finding lost pets and returning them home. According to the animal protection initiative Save Pets of Ukraine, during the war, the number of stray animals in Ukraine increases by 60% annually. This creates a significant burden on shelters and volunteers who are dedicated to saving every tail. Unfortunately, shelters are already insufficient, and the problem is worsening. Registering pets in the Register will ease the search for lost cats, dogs, and ferrets, their identification, and return to their owners.
Thirdly, the introduction of the pet identification and registration system is an effective European practice that allows for a comprehensive approach: not only regulating the number of stray animals but also successfully combating rabies,” explained Denys Bashlyk.
The project is the first digital initiative by the state in the field of veterinary medicine, and the main innovation for owners in the future will be the appearance of electronic veterinary passports in the Diia app.
The project will be implemented in two stages. During the first stage, starting this fall, the Unified State Register of Pets will be launched, and registration for pet owners will take place during visits to veterinarians. The service will be provided free of charge by state and licensed private veterinarians participating in the project and having access to the Register (a list of such veterinarians across Ukraine will be available on the pet.gov.ua project portal). During the second stage, when pet registration becomes widespread and the Register is sufficiently populated, the project team will implement the display of veterinary passports of registered pets in the Diia app.
Future plans for the project include integrating the Unified State Register with international pet databases, including Europetnet. The initiative has already been supported by international and Ukrainian animal protection organizations and the veterinary community. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) provided a special grant, under which nearly 7,000 cats and dogs were chipped and vaccinated against rabies and other diseases, and 20 veterinarians tested the Register in practice. After processing the test results, the launch of the Unified State Register of Pets will be announced on the websites of the initiating state institutions and in the media.
Note: The "Pesyky Fest" festival carries out an educational and charitable mission, promoting a conscious approach to adoption and pet parenting for the well-being of animals. Specifically, the festival includes a lecture series where experts in veterinary medicine, cynology, and zoopsychology discuss various aspects of dog care and interaction.
