Animal Welfare

Reporting by email:

• You can send a report to the supervising veterinarians' shared email address: valvontaelainlaakarit@rovaniemi.fi

Reporting by phone:

• On weekdays during office hours, please use the supervising veterinarian’s phone number.

Outside office hours and on weekends, report urgent animal welfare matters to the on-call veterinarian or the police.

Information needed in the report:

• Describe the animal and what has happened as clearly as possible
• Explain how you became aware of the situation
• Your name (will not be disclosed to the person being reported)
• Your phone number and email address (in case more information is needed)
• The name and address of the animal’s owner or caretaker

If the matter concerns barking dogs or other public order issues, try to resolve it directly with the person causing the disturbance or your housing company. If needed, you may also report the issue to the police as a public order violation.

Anyone can report suspected mistreatment of animals.

Before making a report, try to find out the exact address where the animals are kept and the name of the owner.

If you suspect that an animal has been mistreated, notify the municipal veterinarian, the municipal health protection authority or the police. Animals must the protected from distress, pain and suffering in the best possible way and every effort must be made to promote the welfare and good treatment of animals. The Animal Welfare Act contains provisions on animal premises, feed, care, treatment and breeding.

Enforcing the Animal Welfare Act is the joint responsibility of the health protection authorities of the municipalities or wellbeing services counties, as well as government authorities, such as the police.

In urgent cases, you can reach the police by calling the emergency number 112.