2025-12-02 14:25, updated 2025-12-02 15:37
publication
2025-12-02 14:25
update
2025-12-02 15:37
President Karol Nawrocki announced on Tuesday that he had decided to veto the so-called the Chain Act, which was to introduce a ban on keeping dogs on tethers. He announced that he would submit his own project to the Sejm on this matter, which would “let the dogs off the chains.”
This concerns an amendment to the Animal Protection Act, which, in addition to the ban on keeping dogs on tethers, also introduced requirements regarding the pens in which they are kept. These regulations concerned, among others, the size of the pens or their construction.
In a recording posted on the profile of the Chancellery of the President on
– Instead of solving problems, she created new ones that could lead to the deterioration, not improvement, of the animals' situation. The proposed dog kennel standards were completely unrealistic. Pens the size of urban studio apartments are absurd and would affect farmers, breeders and ordinary rural farms, he emphasized.
He emphasized that the thesis that the Polish countryside treats animals badly is a harmful stereotype. – That is why I am not signing an act that stigmatizes the countryside and at the same time does not solve any real problem – he added.
The president emphasized that animal welfare is important, and he has always cared for the animals that were and are present in his home. – That is why I am submitting to the Sejm the presidential bill that will allow dogs to be released from chains – he announced.
He emphasized that the president's project will actually improve the fate of animals, but will not impose restrictive, unrealistic obligations on people to build pens several dozen meters high. He noted that it is possible for this initiative to be carried out efficiently by the Parliament, and the regulations would enter into force in a similar time to that assumed in the vetoed amendment, i.e. 12 months.
Currently applicable regulations prohibit keeping pets on a leash for longer than 12 hours a day or in a manner that causes them bodily injury or suffering and does not provide them with the opportunity for necessary exercise. The length of the tether cannot be shorter than 3 meters.
The vetoed regulations introduced the definition of a kennel – a place where a dog is kept in a limited space outside a residential premises and from which an untied dog cannot leave on its own, located in a fenced or unfenced area.
The president is exaggerating? Details regarding the size of the pens
According to its content, the pen in which the dog is kept will have a height of not less than 1.7 m and a durable and stable structure, with constant access to daylight, with a fence in which at least two sides have openings that allow light to pass through and allow natural air flow.
In addition, a person keeping a dog in a kennel, in an unheated room or in an open space will be obliged to provide the animal with a kennel made of wood or wood-based materials constituting a thermal barrier, with thermal insulation, protecting against weather conditions and of a size adapted to the size of the dog.
The amendment also provided for exemptions from the ban on keeping dogs on tethers – only outside the dog's permanent residence. It would be possible, among others: keeping the dog on a leash or tying it up for a walk, transport or for a short time under specific conditions indicated by the owner – in a way that does not harm the animal's well-being (e.g. while shopping).
Dogs used for special purposes and dogs kept in animal shelters were to be excluded from the regulations on kennels.
The president does not make easy decisions. He is responsible for making the right decisions – the President of the Republic of Poland @NawrockiKn about their decisions regarding the so-called Act on breeding animals for fur and the so-called Chain Act. pic.twitter.com/dIWYE07Ci9
— Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland (@presidentpl) December 2, 2025
kblu/ mark/
