Pet owner in France faced €300,000 fine and prison sentence over ‘illegal’ cat
Issue revealed during a routine visit to vet
Authorities may also order animals to be euthanised if they enter the country without the required vaccinations, and against rabies in particular (stock image)
Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock
A man in France faced a €300,000 fine and two years in prison after adopting an ‘illegal’ cat from a local association in 2022.
Thierry Puech, from Sète (Hérault), only learned there was an issue some years after adopting the cat, Tigrou.
At the time of the adoption the association advised it could not read the cat’s identification microchip, nor could a vet Mr Puech subsequently visited for Tigrou’s routine care, he told local meda, Midi Libre.
However, when Tigrou required treatment for bladder stones in early 2026, a vet advised Mr Puech to apply for official I-Cad registration.
The I-Cad system is the national database used in France to register and identify cats and dogs through their microchips or tattoos.
When authorities processed the application, they were able to decode the chip and discovered that Tigrou had originally come from Tunisia and had entered France without the required declarations or health checks.
Mr Puech subsequently received a letter from the prefecture stating that he was the owner of an illegally imported animal.
Under French rules governing the import of animals, such an offence can theoretically carry penalties of up to €300,000 in fines and two years in prison.
Authorities may also order animals to be euthanised if they enter the country without the required vaccinations, and against rabies in particular.
The letter gave Mr Puech 48 hours to provide evidence that he had acted in good faith or risk prosecution.
He went to the departmental office responsible for animal protection to explain that he had adopted the cat through an association and had been caring for it since 2022.
To support his case he provided veterinary bills dating back several years, as well as documentation from the person who had initially been fostering the animal.
Officials accepted the explanation and confirmed that the cat’s status could be regularised.
A week later, the prefecture ended the proceedings and agreed that Tigrou could remain with Mr Puech.
The case highlights the strict rules governing the movement of pets into France, particularly from countries outside the European Union.
