36 organizations warn: instead of chains, "prison cages." The Sejm returns to the civic project.

The Parliamentary Extraordinary Committee for Animal Protection continued its work on Tuesday on the citizens' draft amendment to the Animal Protection Act. The document, submitted in 2024 by the committee "Stop Chains, Pseudobreeding, and Animal Homelessness" (prepared among others by OTOZ Animals, Viva!, Mondo Cane, and Action Democracy), gathered 534,077 signatures.

After the first reading, work on the project was interrupted in mid-2025 due to the prioritization of other laws. Some of the proposals have already been implemented – including a ban on keeping dogs on chains (effective July 28, 2027), a ban on breeding animals for fur, and the National Register of Marked Dogs and Cats. Currently, the project still includes issues such as municipal oversight of animal care, programs to combat homelessness (including neutering), shelter inspections, higher penalties for abuse, and fighting pseudobreeding.

During the meeting, several dozen amendments were discussed. Voting on some of them is planned for the next committee meeting – the legislative office needs time to organize a large number of changes. The chairwoman of the committee, Deputy Marshal Dorota Niedziela, informed that social organizations can still submit amendments, which must be formally taken up by the MPs.

At the same time, there is a dispute over the minister of agriculture's regulation defining the minimum conditions for keeping dogs in kennels. According to the draft, the area must be:

• 4 m² for a dog under 40 cm at the withers,
• 5 m² (40–59 cm),
• 8 m² (60–70 cm),
• 10 m² (over 70 cm).

October 7 was the last day for public consultations. 36 animal protection organizations (in a letter authored by attorney Sara Balcerowicz, the representative of the citizens' committee) appealed to Minister Stefan Krajewski to re-establish standards based on current scientific knowledge. They indicate the solutions from the citizens' draft as a model: 15, 20, and 24 m². The organizations emphasize that the proposed areas in some cases will give the dog less space than the current three-meter chain and do not meet natural needs (exploration, movement, sniffing, social behaviors). "There is no agreement to replace chains with prison cages," the letter stated.

Deputy Minister Jacek Czerniak declared that he would recommend to the minister a change to the draft.

An additional point of contention has become Minister Krajewski's announcement of additional inspections not only of shelters but also of animal protection organizations. The Lower Silesian Animal Protection Inspectorate (DIOZ) criticized this decision, pointing out that the ministry has never financially supported organizations that assist the state in caring for animals, while simultaneously allocating funds, among other things, for a program to build kennels for farmers.