Most of the modifications to the initial proposal made by the Commission are amendments for clarification or introducing obligations on the Commission or on the Member States with no serious impact on the general objective of the proposal. The most significant amendment concerns the transitional period of 8 years after which the tatoo will not be recognised for identification of cats and dogs. Electronic identification will be the only accepted method. The Commission anticipates that this amendment is likely to cause difficulties in a few Member States where tattooing is still practised. Nevertheless, 8 years should allow for a smooth switch to the new technology of the microchip.
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