Germany: dog or cat, what the law requires

An animal is not a thing

The law says it expressly: animals are not things, they are protected by special laws (BGB § 90a). Under the Animal Welfare Act, whoever keeps or looks after an animal must feed, care for and house it appropriately, in line with its species and needs and its behavior, must not restrict its natural movement so that it suffers pain or avoidable suffering, and must have the necessary knowledge (§ 2).

Whoever inflicts considerable pain or suffering on a vertebrate without a reasonable cause can be fined; considerable pain inflicted out of cruelty or lasting longer, and killing without a reasonable cause, cost up to three years in prison or a fine (§§ 17 and 18). Administrative offences can be punished with up to €25,000, the lighter ones with up to €5,000.

What applies to dogs

The Animal Welfare Dog Ordinance requires for dogs enough exercise outdoors, contact with the carer several times a day for a sufficient duration and regular contact with other dogs. Puppies need at least four hours a day of contact with a carer up to the 20th week (§ 2). A puppy may only be separated from its mother at over eight weeks.

Dogs may not be kept tied up, except in narrowly defined cases accompanied by a carer (§ 7); water must be available at all times (§ 8); prong collars and other painful means are forbidden in training, education and instruction (§ 2(5)).

Registering, chipping, insuring

The dog tax is a municipal tax, and registration, chip, leash requirement and liability insurance are regulated by the states and municipalities. In Hamburg the dog must be registered within two weeks, microchipped from the third month of life, and liability insurance applies with a sum insured of at least one million euros and an excess of at most €500; there is a general leash requirement. In Berlin tax registration is needed within a month, and registration in the dog register also counts as the tax one. Ask your municipality before getting the animal.

According to the Verbraucherzentrale, liability insurance is mandatory in some states, but not everywhere and not the same everywhere (in North Rhine-Westphalia only for dangerous dogs and those from 40 cm shoulder height or 20 kg). Personal liability insurance does not cover dogs and horses; cats, rabbits and other small animals are generally covered.

Who is liable when something happens

If an animal injures a person or damages a thing, the keeper must make good the damage (BGB § 833). This applies to pets that do not serve the keeper’s profession, gainful activity or maintenance, even without fault; the Verbraucherzentrale speaks of liability of unlimited amount, regardless of fault. That is why keeper’s liability insurance is strongly recommended for dogs, with a sum insured of at least five million euros.

Rented homes, cats and found animals

A clause in a standard-form lease that generally bans keeping dogs and cats is void, because it puts the tenant at an unreasonable disadvantage without regard to special circumstances (BGH, judgment of March 20, 2013, VIII ZR 168/12). Whether keeping one is allowed is then decided by weighing in each case the interests of the landlord, the other residents and the neighbors.

For free-living cats, state governments can issue ordinances in areas with many cats that restrict the free roaming of unneutered cats and prescribe marking and registration (Animal Welfare Act § 13b). Whoever finds a stray animal must report the find to the owner or the competent authority (BGB § 965).