Animals

Kerava is part of the joint emergency veterinary services district with Tuusula, Järvenpää and Nurmijärvi.

On-call hours are Monday to Thursday from 3 pm to 8 am, weekends from Friday at 3 pm to Monday at 8 am and holidays. The on-call veterinarian can be reached at 0600 14241.

Cats, dogs and other pets found without an owner in Kerava can be taken to the Onnentassu animal welfare and grooming centre in Riihimäki.

Onnentassu website (in Finnish).

The Environment Centre of Central Uusimaa is responsible for animal welfare supervision, guidance and education in Kerava. The Environment Centre carries out inspections based on notifications and on a regular basis at sites required by the Animal Welfare Act.

The Environment Centre of Central Uusimaa website (in Finnish).

If you find a dead pet, report it to the rescue animal centre (Onnentassu, tel. +358 50 338 4698) as the owner will want to know about their pet.

In the event of the death of a pet, the animal can be cremated or buried.

Instructions on the burial and cremation of a pet is available on the Finnish Food Authority’s website (in Finnish).

If you have a collision with a dog or cat, you must help the injured animal. Abandoning an animal that is in need of assistance is a crime (Section 14 of the Animal Welfare Act). If you have a collision with a dog or cat, stop your car at a safe location. An injured pet may not be put down, as the decision to euthanize the animal is always made by a vet or the police. An animal that appears dead may be paralyzed or bruised and unable to move. However, the animal has a good chance of recovery if it is taken to a vet for treatment. Contact a veterinarian (Tuusula reception of the Environment Centre of Central Uusimaa, weekdays from 8 am to 3 pm, tel. +358 40 314 3524, or outside office hours, the on-call veterinarian at tel. 0600 14241).

The Environment Centre of Central Uusimaa website (in Finnish).

In the Central Uusimaa region, vehicle collision with larger wild animals such as deer must be reported to the Central Uusimaa game management association, tel. +358 50 3631 850.

The Animal Welfare Act requires that an injured animal is given assistance. The nearest veterinary hospital that treats wild animals is the Wildlife Hospital at Korkeasaari Zoo in Helsinki, tel. 040 334 2954 (during the zoo’s opening hours). The Wildlife Hospital also provides instructions on how to check that an animal is in need of assistance.

You can call the emergency services at 112 when:
• an animal is a danger to people or causes a disturbance.
• the animal welfare matter is urgent, such as when cruelty to animals is currently taking place.
• you encounter a seriously injured animal. There is no need to panic or call emergency services if you see a wild animal in the neighbourhood. If the animal is in a place from where it cannot get out, you can ask for help from the customer service of the Rescue Department. The Central Uusimaa Rescue Department operates in the Kerava area. The customer service can be reached at 09 8394 0000.

Babies of wild animals may appear abandoned, but most likely the mother is close by and monitoring the situation and will return to its offspring after humans have left the area. For example, baby bunnies may sit alone without moving, but this does not mean that they are in danger. Do not touch animals without the advice of a professional, as humans can cause harm to wild animals by interfering in their lives. When you find a baby animal in the wild that appears abandoned, it is important to ask a professional for more instructions.

Advice is available from the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Animal Protection Association, tel. +358 45 135 9726 (on-call helpline).

If you find a small wild animal that is dead, you can dispose of it with mixed waste. However, be sure to protect your hands with gloves, as wild animals have diseases that can be transmitted to humans and pets. For example, the animal’s fur may contain dried secretions that pose an infection hazard. If necessary, you can also contact Kerava’s technical services to have the city dispose of the animal.

If you find a large wild animal, contact the supervisory veterinarian of the Environment Centre of Central Uusimaa, tel. +358 40 314 4756.

You should also contact the supervisory veterinarian if you find several animals dead in the same area. In such cases, the veterinarian will assess the possibility of a contagious animal disease, such as avian flu.

The city carries out rat control in public areas every year. According to the Health Protection Act, the elimination of harmful animals in residential areas is the responsibility of the owner or occupant of the property. If there are many rat sightings in a residential area, the problem can be reported to the Environmental Health Unit of the Environment Centre of Central Uusimaa (tel. 09 87 181, yaktoimisto@tuusula.fi).

If necessary, the Environmental Health Unit evaluates whether the number of rats in a residential area is high enough to cause health hazards. In this case, a health inspector can visit the area to assess the danger to health, as well as, if necessary, inform residents about the rat problem or require measures from the property to resolve the issue.

In rat control, prevention is key. The property’s waste management must be arranged so that rats or other animals cannot enter waste bins or composts containing biowaste. Bird feeding should also be stopped if there are rats in the area. To prevent problems with rats, bird feeding should also never be arranged directly on the ground.