Registration of establishments where terrestrial animals are kept

Register all establishments where animals are kept. When an establishment is registered, it receives a unique establishment identifier (FI + 12 digits).

Submit an animal-keeping notification for the registered establishment

Provide the following information:

• the animal species kept at the establishment
• the purpose of animal keeping (type of activity)
• the start date of animal keeping.

Keep the information up to date

Update the register information if:

• the establishment details change
• the animal-keeping details change
• animal keeping ends.

Species-specific notifications

If you keep bovine animals, pigs, sheep or goats, you must also submit animal-specific event notifications to the relevant animal register.

Events that must be reported include, for example:

• animal purchases
• animal movements
• removals.

If you keep equines, report their details to the equine database maintained by the body issuing equine identification documents.

More information on species-specific identification and registration requirements is available on the Finnish Food Authority’s website.

Register the establishment if you keep the following animals or carry out the following activities:

Ungulates and equines

• bovine animals (including water buffalo and bison)
• pigs (including wild boar and mini pigs)
• sheep (including mouflon)
• goats (including pygmy goats)
• equines (horses, ponies, donkeys, zebras and their crossbreeds)
• cervids (moose, deer, roe deer and reindeer kept outside reindeer herding areas)

Information on bovine animals, pigs, sheep and goats must also be reported to the species-specific animal registers.

Equines must have an identification document, and their details must be recorded in an equine database maintained by an authorised organisation.

Other terrestrial animals

• camelids (camels, alpacas and llamas)
• fur animals (foxes, mink, raccoon dogs, sables and ferrets)
• production rabbits (rabbits kept for fur or meat production)
• other terrestrial animals (excluding households keeping pets and veterinary practices or clinics)

Birds

• poultry and other captive birds, such as farmed game birds and production or hobby birds (for example chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, quails, pheasants, partridges, pigeons, guinea fowl, ostriches, emus and rheas).

Register the establishment where birds are kept and submit a notification of bird keeping to the Register of Animal Keepers and Establishments regardless of whether the birds are kept commercially or as a hobby.

This requirement also applies to small-scale and temporary bird keeping, for example if you keep only a few birds, keep them only during the summer or raise backyard chickens for your own use.

Insects

• bees and bumblebees

Germinal products and embryos

• storage of germinal products and embryos (establishments that do not require separate approval)