The Register of persons banned from keeping animals is owned and maintained by the Legal Register Centre and contains the information on bans from keeping animals imposed by the courts. Information from the Register may be disclosed by means of an Extract from the Register which may be ordered in writing from the Legal Register Centre. Information from the Register may also be disclosed through a technical user interface open to authorities specified in the Act.
The details entered in the register include the name, personal ID and contact details of the person banned from keeping animals, as well as particulars of the court decision, such as the content and duration of the ban.
The Register contains details of all bans from keeping animals currently in force. The information on expired bans is transferred to a searchable archive maintained by the Legal Register Centre. Information from the archive may be given to authorities as necessary for a period of five years after the ban on keeping animals has expired.
Technical user interface for authorities
The authorities named in the Animal Welfare Act have access to the Register through Finnish Food Authority’s data system. Such authorities include municipal official veterinary surgeons and particularly municipal inspecting veterinarians, as well as provincial veterinary officers in Regional State Administrative Agencies. The data is also accessible to border veterinarians and inspecting veterinarians in abattoirs, as well as officials responsible for municipal health protection or health inspectors. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Finnish Food Authority also have right of access.
There is also a link from the Register of persons banned from keeping animals to an application maintained by the Agency for Rural Affairs Mavi, permitting use of the information for purposes of the agricultural, food and rural business administrations. Most agricultural subsidies are not paid to persons found guilty of animal welfare offences during the ban on keeping animals.
The Police, Customs, Border Guard, Public Prosecutor and the General Court of Law also have access to the Register of persons banned from keeping animals through their own systems.
Information from the register to private persons
Information from the register may be disclosed to private persons for animal welfare purposes according to the Legal Register Centres consideration. A person has a right to receive an extract of his or her own information from the register. Information may also be disclosed for instance regarding animal trade: of an animal buyer to an animal seller or of an animal seller to an animal buyer.
An extract from the register may be ordered from the Legal Register Centre. An extract is subject to a charge.