Found animals
According to Section 26 of the Animal Welfare Act, the municipality must provide for the temporary care of dogs and cats found loose and captured on its territory, as well as other similar small companion and hobby animals. The captured animal must be kept for at least 15 days, after which the municipality has the right to sell, otherwise dispose of or euthanize the animal. The municipality has the right to charge the owner or keeper of the animal for the costs of its recovery, care and possible euthanasia. The Siilinjärvi Environmental Health Service is responsible for organising the care of found animals in the cooperation area (Kaavi, Tuusniemi, Lapinlahti, Rautavaara, Siilinjärvi).
As a rule, found animals are caught and delivered to the shelter by the person who found them. However, the animal shelter may arrange transport if this is not possible for the finder. However, the keeper of the animal shelter usually does not have the means to catch the animals for a longer period of time. Trap cages are available at shelters for trapping cats.
The costs of catching and caring for the animal are borne by the owner, and include a recovery fee, any retrieval fee, mileage allowance and care fees plus VAT. So if an animal goes missing, the first place to look for it is the animal shelter to minimise the days and costs involved. The fees should be paid when the animal is picked up, in most places in cash.
To ensure that your animal can be found as quickly as possible, it should be fitted with a collar with at least the owner’s phone number. The phone number on the collar can be read by any finder, and the animal can be found without ending up in the animal shelter.
However, a microchip (or a tattoo in older animals) is the most reliable and preferred identification mark. Legislation on compulsory dog identification and registration entered into force on 1.1.2023. For instructions on dog identification and registration and the necessary forms, see the Finnish Food Authority’s help page on the Dog Register. Cats and ferrets are currently not required to be identified or registered if they are kept as pets or hobby animals and are not moved from the country. If a cat or ferret is travelling abroad, it must also be identified and obtain the necessary documentation, but there is not yet a register for these species in which the identification mark should be entered. The owner’s details must be kept up to date in the various registers. Microchip data can usually also be found in the Finnish Kennel Club or Finnish Cat Association after possible registration, and the patient programs used by veterinarians can, with the owner’s permission, also transmit the data to the common registration systems. The microchip can be read by a reader, which can be found not only at the shelter but also at the veterinary clinics.
If the owner does not pick up the pet within 15 days, priority will be given to finding a new home for the pet.
This link will take you to the animal shelter’s Facebook page, where they post information about found pets and animals looking for a home.
From 1.1.2024, the Animal Shelter Ilo will be responsible for providing care services for found animals.
Animal Shelter Ilo
Lotteisentie 32, 70900 Toivala
phone number 045 7839 7721
open weekdays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends and public holidays from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information, visit www.elainhoitolailo.fi or the Facebook page