The statute in question, which now takes effect, has the stated aim of preventing the advertising and sale online of "animals bred without the conditions foreseen in the law, possibly carrying contagious disease or hereditary anomalies" without the sellers being made responsible for this.

Only animals that are registered in Portugal’s official list, which contains their full genealogy, may be advertised as purebreds.

The activity of breeding and selling pets now requires prior registration by notification, which for those already active may be done within the next three months.

Breeds that are potentially dangerous must be explicitly advertised as such.