Chip and Dog: The State Duma will adopt a new package of animal laws
The State Duma may soon consider six bills on domestic and stray animals, Izvestia found out. Among the main innovations are mandatory registration of pets, and possibly chipping, a multiple increase in fines for self—driving, the withdrawal of "black breeders" from the shadow, and the prompt departure of emergency services in the event of a threat of pack attacks. In the near future, the initiatives will be considered by the Committee on Ecology, after which they will be submitted to a meeting of the State Duma. All bills are supported by the government. About how the lives of dog walkers will change — in the material of Izvestia.
Draft law on mandatory accounting
The new State Duma will continue to work on initiatives related to keeping pets and controlling the homeless. The new deputies will consider six draft laws on this topic, Elena Panova, head of the Committee on Ecology, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, told Izvestia.
— Preparation of [draft laws] for consideration is underway. We will be able to say more precise dates later. We can say for sure that these issues will be discussed by the committee," the parliamentarian said.
Six legislative initiatives were developed in the last convocation of the State Duma. Their authors were members of the working group on the protection of people from neglected animals. The deputies submitted them to Parliament, after which the government sent them positive feedback. The support of the Cabinet of Ministers guarantees the adoption of all six initiatives, believes Nina Ostanina, head of the Family Protection Committee, who headed the working group in the last convocation of the State Duma.
— The Working Group has prepared 20 draft laws, six of them have been approved by the government. With the remaining 14, we need to continue working with the government, and the approved ones should be submitted to the [State Duma] meeting immediately," the parliamentarian said.
Ostanina explained that there are no plans yet to create a separate working group on the problem of stray animals in the new convocation. The deputies submitted all 20 draft laws to the relevant Committee on ecology, which will continue to work on them. Nina Ostanina clarified that if the committee stops this process for some reason, the issue of resuming the working group will have to be raised again, although so far there are no such risks.
All bills that have a positive government response have been supported by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, as this is a consolidated position, the ministry explained to Izvestia.
"The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is ready and constantly working to improve legislation on responsible treatment of animals, including jointly with the deputy corps," the ministry added.
A key initiative approved by the Cabinet of Ministers will be the draft law on mandatory registration of pets. The document suggests that all owners will be required to label animals at their own expense and register them with the Rosselkhoznadzor veterinary system. The government will determine the list of animals to be labeled, establish rules for their accounting, as well as acceptable identification methods — from ordinary tags and collars to electronic microchips. At the same time, there is no question of introducing any separate tax.
Vladimir Rybalko, a biologist and head of the First Petrozavodsk Animal Shelter, told Izvestia that the law on mandatory registration was long-awaited. Chipping of animals (if the government chooses this method of mandatory identification of animals) will help solve the problem of impunity for owners who freely throw away pets or let them go on their own. The new initiative will allow trapping services to find owners of lost dogs faster, simplify the work of relevant departments and increase the responsibility of citizens, which should eventually reduce the number of stray animals.
At the same time, it is not enough to simply adopt a law — it is necessary to think over clear mechanisms for its implementation and control. The experience of regions where they have already tried to introduce mandatory registration shows that the proportion of registered pets remains low due to the lack of effective enforcement levers. According to Rybalko, special regulations for veterinary clinics, as well as giving law enforcement agencies the authority to check the availability of records, could be an incentive for owners.
What other initiatives about animals will the deputies consider?
The second bill, on "black breeders," is designed to completely eliminate clandestine "farms" by imposing strict requirements on commercial animal breeding. Businessmen will be required to keep strict records of family tree documents and register with a single specialized non-profit organization. This will help bring the shadow sector of the market out of the shadows, Vladimir Rybalko is sure.
He notes a key detail of the mechanism: the state, apparently, plans to shift control functions from its shoulders to the community itself. We are talking about the creation or allocation of large specialized organizations of breeders, which will have to independently supervise the rest of the market participants. The expert speaks cautiously about the viability of this scheme.: "Let's see how it works."
The third initiative will multiply fines for improper maintenance of four-legged animals by both ordinary citizens and shelters. They can be punished, for example, for absconding, polluting public places, or creating dangerous situations. Initially, the deputies wanted to increase penalties up to 20 times: for citizens — up to 50 thousand rubles, and for legal entities (the same shelters) — up to 500 thousand rubles. The Cabinet approved the proposal, but advised reducing the amount of monetary sanctions, noting that Russians simply would not be able to pay such amounts. In addition, the document proposes to increase the limitation period for administrative liability from 60 days to three years.
The next bill radically changes the procedure for bringing violators to justice. If long preliminary checks were required earlier after the pet was thrown away or when it was bitten, then, according to the draft law, the supervisory authorities will be able to immediately initiate administrative proceedings under art. 8.52 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. This will require obvious evidence, such as surveillance videos or eyewitness photos. It is assumed that the initiative will not allow the owners of violators to escape punishment due to bureaucracy.
The fifth initiative prohibits teenagers under 16 from walking dogs of potentially dangerous breeds unaccompanied by adults. A similar ban is being introduced for citizens under the influence of alcohol or drugs who are physically unable to control a large animal.
Finally, the sixth initiative provides for the creation of a unified emergency response service in the country. If stray dogs have attacked a person or are threatening a pack, you can report this by calling the usual 112 number. Now such calls are often redirected from one department to another, but the new law will oblige specialists to respond to signals about aggressive animals immediately, according to strict uniform regulations.
The proposed bills deserve approval, but they risk not working in the future, warns Vladimir Rybalko. The expert stressed that all initiatives may face the problem of law enforcement. He emphasizes that it is possible to hold violators accountable, in particular for improper animal husbandry, under the existing articles of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, but in practice these mechanisms work extremely poorly. Accordingly, the mere appearance of a new law on breeders or a simple increase in fines will not solve the problem of the growth of stray animals until a strict, working mechanism for supervision and punishment of violations is created.
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