Veterinary decontamination operations – licensing step by step

Veterinary decontamination operations are understood to be the collection, transportation, safe management and further processing of animal by-products; further, disinfection, rat extermination, possibly also deodorization, catching stray and abandoned animals and their placement into quarantine or isolation.



The collection, transportation, harmless disposal and further processing of animal by-products can be done only as a disposal company. A disposal company operates under a permit issued by the Central Veterinary Administration of the State Veterinary Administration. To operate only certain veterinary disposal activities, i.e., it does not involve operating a disposal company, the regional veterinary administration of the State Veterinary Administration issues the permit to a person who meets the conditions laid down by the Veterinary Act and European Union regulations governing the health rules for animal by-products not intended for human consumption.

Capturing stray or abandoned animals or the collection and disposal of carcasses of pets can only be done by a qualified person who has completed specialized professional training focusing on this activity, passed the final exam and received a certificate of eligibility for this activity.

Permission is granted on the basis of a written application, the requirements of which are set out in § 15 and in the case of a disposal company in § 16 of Decree No. 342/2012 Coll., on animal health and protection, on the relocation and transportation of animals, and on the professional qualifications for performing certain professional veterinary activities, as amended (hereinafter “Decree”).

Application for permission to conduct veterinary disposal activities

Proof of professional qualification:

  • Persons professionally qualified to conduct disposal activities are persons who obtained the education specified in § 59 or § 59a of the Veterinary Act.
  • A person qualified to capture stray and abandoned animals and to collect and dispose of the carcasses of pets is a person who has completed specialized professional training focusing on these activities organized by a university with a veterinary degree program, has passed the final exam and gained certification of eligibility for this activity.

Further information on the licence proceedings

The local regional veterinary administration conducts on-site inspections – meeting the health and veterinary conditions is certified.

The regional/central veterinary administration shall always decide on the permission to conduct veterinary activities in accordance with Act No. 500/2004 Coll., Administrative Procedure Code, as amended.

The business may be conducted after fulfilling all the above stated requirements.

Related information:

If you have any questions, you can contact Points of Single Contact (PSC) set up at 15 municipal trade licence offices in all regions. More information on PSCs.

You can write your comments and proposals in the discussion forum.