Euthanasia cannot be a tool for managing healthy animals, environment and animal welfare commissioner Antonia Theodosiou said on Friday.

Commenting on recent posts on social media attributed to Theodosiou, the commissioner’s office said the posts contained “incorrect and misleading statements”.

The commissioner’s office said Theodosiou never supported or indirectly implied that euthanasia should be used for ill or injured animals and that such posts caused confusion and raised questions.

When the commissioner was referring to abolishing euthanasia for healthy animals, she explicitly meant ending the practice in which dogs were killed because they were strays or because a suitable accommodation or adoption solution had not been found within a specific period of time.

The commissioner is proposing amendments to the law, which currently stipulates that dogs can be euthanised if a home is not found within 30 days.

Her proposal is to remove that clause and make other improvements, including microchips being mandatory for dogs from two months old instead of six.