Finland's new dog register finally opened on Monday morning following months-long delays caused by technical difficulties.
By 4pm, around 4,000 pooches had been registered in the system run by the Finnish Food Authority. Registration will lead to the dogs eventually being fitted with a microchip.
"There is always a lot of mystery when a new service is introduced. I hope to see 3,000-6,000 registrations per day in the future," the authority's Kirsi Vehkakoski said, but added that she expects the pace to slow down from the initial first-day enthusiasm.
The online platform is open 24 hours a day, so dog owners can upload their pet's details at any time.
"The important thing is to remember to get it done before the end of this year," Vehkakoski said.
No penalties for not registering - yet
The authority has stated that it hopes every single one of the 800,000 permanent canine residents living in Finland will be on the registry by the end of 2023, but Vehkakoski noted that this year is a time for dog owners to seek advice and guidance.
"The dog must have an identification tag in order and then be registered," Vehkakoski said.
After this year, owners may face fines or other penalties if they fail to register their pet in the system.
This alone has angered some dog owners, but the register became a point of controversy long before it finally opened on Monday. The authority received angry customer feedback earlier this year over the registration fees and the new register overlapping with the Finnish Kennel Club's index.
Dog owner Outi Piisi told Yle she views the newly-launched register as a bureaucratic mess which fails to provide solutions to the issues it was meant to tackle, such as illegal animal trafficking, puppy mills and pet abandonment.
"I cannot believe that this is going to do any good, other than to make people angry. I will only register my dogs with the Finnish Food Authority when I absolutely have to," Piisi said, adding "there should be some limits to stupidity."
Kirsi Vehkakoski confirmed that the authority has received plenty of feedback, both positive and negative.
"A new obligation can evoke a range of emotions," she said.
The register's first stage
In future, the register will record the identification and ownership details of all dogs permanently resident in Finland.
For now, private owners can register their pet with just a personal identification number. Registration should be open to dogs owned by companies and associations by August this year.
Vehkakoski noted that the overall aim of the register is to improve animal welfare.
"First the dogs will be registered and then the same register will be used to report diseases and measures that affect breeding," she said.
The Food Authority's register will record each dog's microchip identification code, breed or description of external characteristics such as size or colour, date of birth, gender, name and country of birth, if other than Finland.
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