Message 001
Communication from the Commission - TRIS/(2026) 0770
Directive (EU) 2015/1535
Notification: 2026/0126/NL
Notification of a draft text from a Member State
Notification – Notification – Notifzierung – Нотификация – Oznámení – Notifikation – Γνωστοποίηση – Notificación – Teavitamine – Ilmoitus – Obavijest – Bejelentés – Notifica – Pranešimas – Paziņojums – Notifika – Kennisgeving – Zawiadomienie – Notificação – Notificare – Oznámenie – Obvestilo – Anmälan – Fógra a thabhairt
Does not open the delays - N'ouvre pas de délai - Kein Fristbeginn - Не се предвижда период на прекъсване - Nezahajuje prodlení - Fristerne indledes ikke - Καμμία έναρξη προθεσμίας - No abre el plazo - Viivituste perioodi ei avata - Määräaika ei ala tästä - Ne otvara razdoblje kašnjenja - Nem nyitja meg a késéseket - Non fa decorrere la mora - Atidėjimai nepradedami - Atlikšanas laikposms nesākas - Ma jiftaħx il-perijodi ta’ dewmien - Geen termijnbegin - Nie otwiera opóźnień - Não inicia o prazo - Nu deschide perioadele de stagnare - Nezačína oneskorenia - Ne uvaja zamud - Inleder ingen frist - Ní osclaíonn sé na moilleanna
MSG: 20260770.EN
1. MSG 001 IND 2026 0126 NL EN 11-03-2026 NL NOTIF
2. Netherlands
3A. Ministerie van Financiën
Belastingdienst/Douane centrale dienst voor in- en uitvoer
3B. Ministerie van Landbouw, Visserij, Voedselzekerheid en Natuur,
Directie Wetgeving en Juridische Zaken
Afdeling Landbouw en Voedselkwaliteit
4. 2026/0126/NL - C90A - Well-being of animals and pets
5. Decision of** amending the Animal Keepers Decree due to an extension of the ban on admission and participation in competitions, exhibitions and inspections with cropped and docked dogs and horses
6. It is prohibited to participate in (or allow participation in) competitions, exhibitions and inspections with dogs whose ears or tails have been cropped and with horses whose tails have been docked and which were born on or after 1 December 2016.
7.
8. This decision prohibits the participation in competitions, exhibitions and inspections of dogs whose ears or tails have been cropped and of horses whose tails have been docked that were born on or after 1 December 2016, even if the physical intervention was lawfully carried out in a country where it is permitted or due to a veterinary necessity. This decision also prohibits the admission of these animals to a competition, exhibition or inspection.
Article 4.19 (may) contain a technical regulation because the ban on participating in or being admitted to competitions, exhibitions or inspections in the Netherlands constitutes a barrier to intra-community trade.
The decision does not prohibit the admission of products, foreign producers or suppliers to the Dutch market. No technical requirements are imposed. A mutual recognition provision is therefore not necessary.
9. Notification has been made because the actual effect of the ban is that horses (born on or after 1 December 2016) and dogs in which a designated intervention has been carried out, regardless of reason and origin, may no longer participate in or be admitted to competitions, exhibitions or inspections in the Netherlands. This in itself constitutes a barrier to intra-community trade. However, this barrier is justified because it is necessary in the interest of animal welfare, which has been recognised as a legitimate objective of general interest (see, among others, the Andibel ruling: ECLI:EU:C:2008:353). By prohibiting the showing of docked and cropped dogs and horses, including in those cases where such an intervention has been carried out due to a veterinary necessity and is therefore permitted in itself, an incentive to purchase already docked or cropped animals (whether or not from abroad) is removed. And out of respect for the intrinsic value of animals, to have these unnecessary and unwanted interventions carried out. The ban is appropriate for the purpose and implements the principle of the Animals Act that the integrity or welfare of animals must always be weighed against other interests and that any infringement of the integrity or welfare of animals must not go beyond what is reasonably necessary. The exhibition of docked and cropped animals serves only to entertain humans. This interest does not outweigh the violation of the intrinsic value of the animal and its integrity. The ban supplements the existing ban on admission to and participation in competitions, exhibitions and inspections involving animals that have undergone physical procedures prohibited under Article 2.8 of the Animals Act. A prohibited procedure is, among other things, an operation that has been carried out without a veterinary necessity.
No other less far-reaching measures than this ban are conceivable to achieve the objective. The ban is also proportionate because it is limited to interventions on the tail in horses and interventions on the tail and ears of dogs. The measures apply within the Netherlands without discrimination on grounds of nationality.
10. Numbers or titles of the basic texts:
11. No
12.
13. No
14. No
15. Yes
16.
TBT aspects: No
SPS aspects: No
**********
European Commission
Contact point Directive (EU) 2015/1535
email: grow-dir2015-1535-central@ec.europa.eu
