Minister hints extending pet registration deadline

Erdinç Çelikkan – ANKARA

Turkish Agriculture and Forestry Minister Vahit Kirişçi has hinted that the deadline of Dec. 31 to register pets on the PETVET pet-tracking system may be extended. 

“We will figure out the total number of registered pets and make a decision,” Kirişçi said on Dec. 27. 

When asked if the deadline for pet registration would be extended, Kirişçi replied with a “Maybe.”

Meanwhile, as the deadline nears to get pets registered on the pet-tracking system called “PETVET,” pet owners have formed long queues before their respective provincial directorates across the country, while veterinarians are experiencing a shortage of chips.

Based on an animal protection legislation that came into force in late 2018, the ministry started the project to determine the exact number of dogs, cats and weasels looked after by their owners.

As fines will be imposed on those who do not have their pets registered on PETVET until Jan. 1, 2023, the last day set by the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry for the microchipping process, animal owners created a density in the provincial directorates across the country.

“We demand 300 chips from the provincial directorate, and they give us 100,” veterinarian Doruk Demirci told daily Milliyet, pointing to a shortage of chips across the country.

He said pets that are still not chipped even after the specified date will still be cared for when they come to the examination.

Demirci also noted that there may be animals with a chip that needs MRI due to a health problem. If it will prevent the diagnosis of the disease, the chip will be removed, and veterinarians may charge extra for this, he added.

Nearly 1 million pets have been chipped and registered so far, according to the data from the ministry.

Those who pass the deadline because of the shortage will be able to register their animals in the new year by documenting the situation.

With the microchip application, the name of the animal, its passport number, breed, gender, color, date of birth, name and address of the owner are recorded.

Thanks to the system, pets that are abandoned or get lost can be found and delivered to their owners.