Dogs imported from Russia and Belarus can be registered to Finland with an exceptional procedure if the Export Pedigree has been issued no later than 15th March 2022

The Board of the Finnish Kennel Club decided on 4th March 2022 that dogs imported from Russia and Belarus are no longer registered to Finland after 15th March 2022. The reason behind this decision is the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Understandably, this decision has brought up many questions since many dogs are imported especially from Russia to Finland.

- We do not want to complicate the work of Finnish dog breeders. When specifying this decision, we have taken into consideration the feedback from our members and the Finnish Dog Breeder Club FDBC, says Harri Lehkonen, Chair of the Finnish Kennel Club’s Board.

A copy of the Export Pedigree or its digital version is approved if issued no later than 15th March 2022

According to the special procedure adopted by the Finnish Kennel Club’s Board, the Finnish Kennel Club can register a dog imported from Russia or Belarus based on a copy of its Export Pedigree or a digital Export Pedigree, provided that the Export Pedigree has been issued by the Russian Kynological Federation (RKF) or the Belorussian Cynological Union (BCU) no later than 15th March 2022. The registration date appears in the lower left corner of the Export Pedigree. This kind of document must be delivered to the Finnish Kennel Club by 31st March 2022. Documents sent to the Finnish Kennel Club are processed as soon as possible after this.

When the dog owner receives the original Export Pedigree, it must be immediately delivered to the Finnish Kennel Club so that the dog's Finnish registration number can be attached to the original document.

If the dog has been previously imported to Finland from Russia or Belarus, the intention is to register the dog with the Finnish Kennel Club, and the dog has an original Export Pedigree, the dog must be registered with the Finnish Kennel Club by 15th March 2022. The original Export Pedigree must be delivered to the Finnish Kennel Club by 15th March 2022.

The special procedure is in force until further notice.

The goal is to process special procedure registrations quickly

A large number of registrations of Russian and Belorussian dogs are currently processed by Showlink Oy, which handles the Finnish Kennel Club’s registration services.

- We want to thank the owners of imported dogs for their patience in this challenging situation. We aim to process the registrations as fast as possible, promises Tuula Laitinen, the manager in charge of the registration department at Showlink Oy.

Copies of Export Pedigrees and digital Export Pedigrees of dogs imported from Russia and Belarus are sent by email to tuontikoirat@kennelliitto.fi. The registration process can be started in the Omakoira member service.

Original Export Pedigree documents can be delivered directly to Showlink’s offices in Leppävirta, address Kievarinkatu 4, and Espoo, address Lanttikatu 2. The offices are open on weekdays 9.00–17.00. These documents can also be sent by mail to the address Suomen Kennelliitto c/o Showlink Oy, PL 20, 79101 Leppävirta, Finland.

For further information

Chair of the Finnish Kennel Club’s Board
Harri Lehkonen
harri.lehkonen@kennelliitto.fi
tel. +358 50 329 2188

Service phone number, import registrations
 +358 9 8873 0277 (weekdays from 11.00 to 17.00)