In the Russian Federation proposed to impose fines for the promotion of cruelty to animals

The bill, developed by the State Duma Committee on Ecology, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, provides for the introduction of fines of up to 100 thousand rubles for promoting cruelty to animals. This is reported by the newspaper “Izvestia” with reference to the initiator of the initiative.

Vladimir Burmatov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Ecology, noted that two trends can now be distinguished in the information space. Firstly, it is doghanism when there are groups and publics in social networks that coordinate and publish information related to the mass killing of animals. Such crimes are punishable by up to five years in prison under the Criminal Code. However, the promotion of such activities still remains unchecked.

According to the proposal, calls for violent actions against animals will be fined in the amount of 5 thousand to 30 thousand rubles with confiscation of the subject of an administrative offense or arrest for up to 15 days with the removal of the pet. For officials and legal entities, it is proposed to establish fines in the amount of 10 thousand to 15 thousand rubles and from 50 thousand to 100 thousand rubles, respectively, with confiscation of the animal.

It is also planned to introduce a separate punishment for the creation and distribution of materials promoting ill-treatment, in the form of a fine of 10,000 to 20,000 rubles for individuals, from 15,000 to 25,000 rubles for officials, and from 20,000 up to 100 thousand rubles for legal entities, as well as the withdrawal of a pet.

Burmatov stressed that such content is extremely destructive, since it directly encourages cruelty and creates a sense of impunity. This contributes to an increase in cases of cruelty and even the commission of criminal offenses. Therefore, the State Duma Committee believes that it is necessary to introduce a separate article in the Code of Administrative Offenses to combat such content.