24 February this year the government Accepted a bill that introduces mandatory dog and cat chipping and a state registry of these animals – alleged National registry of Marked Dogs and Cats (CROPIK). The task predicts that all dogs (both home and shelter) will should be labelled with microchip and registered in the central state system. Cats will be subject to the work mainly erstwhile they go to shelters or change owners, while for the others registration is to stay formally ‘voluntary’.
The Tusk government explains that the aim of these changes is to fight animal homelessness, to better link the animal to the guardian and to prosecute irresponsible practices of the owners more effectively. The task is expected to enter into force after the end of the vacatio legis period and will include guardians of dogs and cats born after the start of the system.
The government's authoritative communications are focused on the words: "Fighting Homelessness", ‘better recognition of animals’, ‘maintainment of the records’. specified objectives sound good, but after careful reading of the task we see, first of all, another example of the expansion of bureaucracy, centralisation and state control, which does not necessarily have strong reasons.
Objections to the fresh thought are multiple. First of all, the state register, maintained by the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture, will replace existing private and local bases. In practice, this means that the data of all owners and their animals will go into a centralised strategy – regardless of whether anyone would always request specified information. This action is part of a broader trend in expanding state competences at the expense of citizens.
Moreover, mandatory chipping and registration is not only a formality – microchip implantation and registration services can cost the owner respective twelve zlotys, and this is only the beginning of spending. Although the task assumes limited rates, the additional administrative and financial work will fall primarily on private individuals, not on industrial or network vendors.
The argument of the authorities about the alleged "necessity" of the fight against animal homelessness is socially acceptable, but the policy of mandatory chipping is only 1 tool – and this is not an effective tool if it is not combined with another support systems, owner education and municipal adoption programmes. Instead, the government prefers to impose another obligation, expanding control alternatively than solving the problem comprehensively.
Policies introduced by the government can be seen as part of the wider state trend of "managing the regular lives of citizens". The fresh responsibilities related to the recognition of the pupili are also domain in which citizens must study their private lives to the state system. The draft provides for sanctions for deficiency of a chip or non-registration of an animal, which means that the average owner may be fined for failing to complete the formalities. In turn, the central database raises concerns about privacy and possible data abuse – from vets to police and municipal offices.
The decision to make mandatory chipping of dogs and cats can be marketed as ‘help in the fight against animal homelessness’. However, the analysis of legislative and administrative realities shows that the task expands state registers more than actually protecting animals, costs and responsibilities are borne by average owners, and the government expands bureaucratic control in the next sphere of private life. Moreover, no public consultation was accompanied.
As a result, we are faced with an example of bureaucratic execution – state interference in the lives of citizens under the pretext of social concern, which can in practice consequence mainly in increased responsibilities without proportional benefits.
These actions are part of the doctrine of “more states, more supervision, more punishment” alternatively of “more education, support, partnerships with citizens”. It is simply a classical fascism in which the state organises all area of social and economical life.
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