Animal stock declaration and declaration obligation for specially protected species in domestic animal husbandry

Anyone who keeps vertebrate animals of specially protected species must notify the competent authority in writing of the number of animals immediately after the start of keeping and, after notification of the number of animals, of any additions and disposals as well as the identification of animals.

Vertebrates are living creatures that have a skeleton with a vertebral column.
Vertebrates include

• Mammals
• birds
• reptiles
• amphibians
• fish

Conversely, these are not vertebrates:

• Molluscs (e.g. mussels, snails)
• Annelids (e.g. leeches)
• Cnidarians (e.g. jellyfish)
• Primitive animals (amoebae)
• insects

The obligation to register applies to all non-commercial keepers of specially protected vertebrates and applies both to the animal keeper handing over the animal (who deregisters the animal) and to the animal keeper receiving the animal (who registers the animal). There are exceptions for certain species, which are listed under "Further information".

Requirements

Vertebrates of specially protected species may only be kept if they are not subject to a ban on possession and the keeper

• has the necessary reliability and sufficient knowledge about the keeping and care of the animals, and
• has the necessary facilities to ensure that the animals cannot escape and that the keeping complies with animal welfare regulations.