Dogs and cats will no longer be allowed to be kept on chains under an amendment to the Animal Protection Act adopted by the Sejm, which is now awaiting the president’s signature. If it enters into force, dogs kept outside the home will have to be provided with a run on a fenced property or a properly prepared kennel. The changes may affect as many as around one million dog owners, mainly in rural areas.
The Ministry of Agriculture emphasises that the version of the act adopted by parliament is the result of a compromise developed during legislative work involving MPs and senators, the President of Poland and animal protection organisations. The amendment also covers cats, although most of the new obligations concern dogs kept outside the home. In such cases, the owner will have to ensure that the dog can move freely around a fenced property. Where this is not possible, the dog may be kept in a kennel. Compared with the original draft, detailed kennel dimensions have been removed from the act itself.
“The act has been amended with regard to the size of kennels. A separate regulation by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development will define the appropriate kennel area for animals,” Stefan Krajewski, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, told Newseria. “I will consult this with behaviourists, people with extensive knowledge of the subject, and veterinarians.”
The regulation will specify, among other things, the minimum kennel area depending on the size of the dog and the number of animals kept in it. The amendment also provides for an obligation to ensure that dogs kept in kennels or outdoors have access to a properly insulated kennel made of wood or wood-based materials.
“Our goal is, on the one hand, to end animal homelessness, and on the other, to ensure that welfare requirements are met, so that animals are not kept on chains and have their own kennels or enclosures where they can feel free,” Krajewski said.
The regulations in force until now prohibit keeping an animal on a tether shorter than three metres and for more than 12 hours a day. The authors of the draft stress that a dog is a social animal, and that being kept on a tether for long periods limits its ability to meet its natural needs and may lead to behavioural disorders. The justification for the amendment notes that the problem is not only the fact that a dog is tied up, but also long-term tethering, chains that are too short, collars growing into the skin, and keeping animals on excessively heavy chains. For this reason, the new regulations move away from the model allowing dogs to be kept on a tether temporarily.
If the president signs the act, it will enter into force 12 months after its publication. During this period, owners will be able to adapt their properties to the new requirements. For some of them, this will mean having to rebuild existing runs or build new kennels.
According to the European Pet Food Annual Report 2025, there are more than 8.4 million dogs and more than 7.5 million cats in Poland. An April Biostat survey indicates that two in three households declare having at least one pet, of which 70 percent have a dog and 53.8 percent have a cat. According to the authors of the draft, there are more than 1.2 million individual farms in Poland where guard dogs are often kept. It is primarily their owners who will be covered by the new regulations.
The changes reflect public expectations, and support for them has been growing over the years. A 2020 CBOS survey found that three-quarters of Poles, or 74 percent, supported a ban on permanently keeping animals on a tether and restrictions on the possibility of tying them up temporarily. At the same time, 91 percent of respondents supported increased inspections of animal shelters, while 80 percent backed expanding the powers of social organisations to remove mistreated animals.
A ban on keeping dogs on chains is already in force in various forms in countries including Austria, Sweden and Italy. In Slovakia, tethering is generally prohibited except in strictly defined situations. Estonia is also preparing to introduce regulations in this area.
