Riga City Council reminds that residents of the capital who own a dog that has reached the age of six months must pay a fee for keeping a dog by 1 March annually.
The fee for keeping a dog is ten euros per year.
The following are exempt from the fee for keeping a dog:
- persons with a disability of group 1 or 2;
- persons with a visual or hearing impairment of group 3.
The fee for keeping a dog is reduced by 50% if:
- the dog’s registered owner is a pensioner;
- the dog is sterilised.
The revenue from the fees for keeping dogs is transferred to the general budget of the municipality, while the Housing and Environment Department of Riga City Council requests the necessary funding for the creation and maintenance of infrastructure for dogs, as well as for the stray animal population control.
- Riga City Council recommends using the e-service portal www.latvija.lv to pay the fee for keeping a dog.
- When making the payment, the name of the dog owner, the personal identification number and the dog's identity number, which is indicated in the microchip implanted in the dog, must be provided.
- The owner of the dog is obliged to present the dog upon the request of the Riga Municipal Police, and to hold the dog still so that the data contained in the microchip can be retrieved safely and unhindered.
- The dog owner can obtain an annual badge for keeping the dog from a veterinary practitioner, which serves as proof that the dog has been vaccinated against rabies and that the fee for keeping the dog has been paid.
- Infomation on veterinary clinics where a person can obtain a badge for keeping a dog can be found on the website of the Housing and Environment Department of the Riga City Council.
The owner of the dog must provide a receipt confirming payment of the fee for keeping the dog or a document proving that the person has a disability of group 1 or 2, or a visual or hearing disability of group 3. The owner of the dog must provide the pet passport and/or vaccination certificate showing that the dog has been vaccinated against rabies.
Information prepared by: Mārtiņš Vilemsons, Project Coordinator, External Communication Department of the Riga City Council’s Communications Board, e-mail: martins.vilemsons@riga.lv.