Small animal

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The term small animals is used today to refer to domestic and domestic animals such as domestic dogs and cats , small reptiles , rodents and birds , which are not kept by humans as economic animals , but are included in everyday life as companions. The term used to mean those farm animals that - unlike horses , cattle or pigs - could be kept with little effort, i.e. poultry ( chickens , pigeons , turkeys , ...), hares and rabbits , pheasants , songbirds and others.

Small animals in tenancy law

In tenancy law , according to the delimitation resulting from the judgment of the Federal Court of Justice of November 14, 2007 (VIII ZR 340/06), such animals are considered small animals that are kept in closed containers, i.e. not roaming around freely in the apartment or house. Small animals are animals that cannot cause disturbance to neighbors and do not cause damage to the home, provided that they are kept in the usual number and type. These include, for example, budgies , hamsters , domestic rabbits , guinea pigs , gerbils , ornamental fish and similar animals. Keeping small animals is always allowed in rental apartments and cannot be prohibited. The tenant is entitled to use the rental object in accordance with the contract. In jurisprudence and literature there is essentially agreement that keeping small animals as well as dogs and cats is part of the contractual rental use and therefore cannot be forbidden by the landlord.

Since March 20, 2013 there has been a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice ( BGH, ruling of March 20, 2013 - VIII ZR 168/12; LG Essen ), which prohibits a general ban on keeping dogs and cats . If the rental agreement or the house rules prohibit keeping dogs or cats, this is a restriction on the use of the rental property and is not legally binding. The keeping of animals is subject to the right to free personal development. A general ban on keeping dogs and cats is therefore a violation of the tenant's personal rights and is not permitted. In addition, a tenant is entitled to keep a species of animal under the aspect of equal treatment if another resident of the house has been allowed to keep the same species. However, if the animals disturb other tenants, this must be checked on a case-by-case basis.

Small animals in building law

With regard to animal husbandry, Section 14 Paragraph 1 Clause 2 of the Building Utilization Ordinance contains provisions on small animals. Accordingly, only animals are recorded whose keeping in building areas is typically normal and harmless and - in the case of residential areas - are typically used for leisure activities in the context of residential use. From a building law point of view, goats, sheep and pigs can definitely be classified as small animals. However, an individual case assessment is usually unavoidable in order to check whether the requirement of consideration has been observed.

Small animals in veterinary medicine

In veterinary medicine , domestic dogs and house cats are classified as small animals in the narrower sense, while small mammals, ornamental birds and reptiles in hobby keeping are mostly classified as pets . They are the typical clientele of a small animal practice .

Small animal breeding

In Europe, the small animal breeding associations have merged to form the Entente Européenne d'Aviculture et de Cuniculture .

Individual evidence

  1. BGH, judgment of March 20, 2013 - VIII ZR 168/12. Retrieved August 14, 2019 .
  2. Can I keep animals in the rented apartment? | Attorney Christian Solmecke. Retrieved August 14, 2019 .
  3. BVerwG Az. 4 B 20.84, NVwZ 1984, 647 = juris - No. 4th
  4. Federal Administrative Court, decision of June 21, 1991, Ref .: BVerwG 4 B 44.91
  5. Ekkehard Wiesner and Regine Ribbeck: Dictionary of Veterinary Medicine , Gustav-Fischer-Verlag, 2nd ed. 1983, vol. 1 p. 638.

See also