Stop the catastrophe: Russia has proposed a law banning the uncontrolled breeding of cats and dogs

In Russia they want to take control of “gray” breeders of cats and dogs. The government has received a bill on state regulation of domestic nurseries. First of all, it will affect those who are looking for easy money at the expense of our little brothers. They will have to purchase a license for a certain type of commercial activity – breeding pets and pay taxes as self-employed. Pioneers, pensioners, as well as volunteers who place puppies and kittens in good hands are not threatened by the new law.

The author of the amendments to the law “On the Responsible Treatment of Animals”, deputy head of the State Duma Committee on Ecology, Vladimir Burmatov, believes that the time has come to restore order to the shadow market of pets. First of all, we are talking about apartment nurseries and unscrupulous breeders.

You can’t argue with this statement; MK has repeatedly written about the fact that breeding cats and dogs is sometimes carried out by completely unqualified people who care only about their own profit. In addition, many owners let their pets walk on their own, especially in rural areas, and as a result, a new litter appears, which, unfortunately, no one needs. Some people act the old fashioned way: in a bag and into the water, while others throw the babies out into the street, and they join the army of neglected, stray animals. In general, the problem is really ripe and even overripe, but will it be possible to solve it this time?

In May 2021, the President instructed the government to develop measures to suppress the uncontrolled breeding of domestic animals and regulate the procedure for keeping them. They are already trying to introduce something in this regard, for example, Moscow and the region have adopted laws on the mandatory registration of cats and dogs, and in the Moscow region, microchipping of dogs has been made mandatory since September 1. The region also increased fines for owners who let their animals roam.

But these decisions did not cause much enthusiasm in the expert community. Many animal rights activists believe that the requirement to have dogs microchipped could, on the contrary, provoke a mass abandonment of animals. The same skepticism exists regarding the new bill.

“We don’t need a new law, we need to learn to comply with at least those that already exist. Take, for example, the requirement for owners to clean up after their pets on the street; for failure to comply with this norm, a fine is due, but I don’t know anyone who would receive it,” says dog handler Ksenia Osinevskaya. – Walking a dog without a leash in public places is also subject to a fine, but usually only those owners whose animals have bitten someone come to the attention of law enforcement agencies. But no one pays any attention to the rest, go to any Moscow park or square, there are dogs of various breeds running freely along the paths, and no one punishes their owners for this.”

According to Ksenia, of course, we need to fight against domestic nurseries. Firstly, animals are often bred there that are sick, suffer from genetic defects and under no circumstances should be involved in breeding. Secondly, such would-be divorcers do not pay taxes, they do not have a license for any type of activity – they think only about their own benefit.

“Our foundation often receives complaints from neighbors who complain that there are dozens of animals in some apartment. They bark continuously, an unpleasant smell spreads from the apartment, and insects crawl in. You arrive on call, thinking that a lonely grandmother lives there, picking up stray animals, and the door is opened by a healthy big guy and declares that he has a kennel of elite dogs. When you ask if he can document this, they close the door in your face. That’s the whole conversation. We have tried many times to influence such “gray” divorcees through law enforcement agencies, but the local police officers already have enough to worry about. They simply brush us off. I very much doubt that the new law will correct anything in this matter. Because it is completely unclear who should monitor its implementation.”

Veterinarian Olga Seregina has a completely different opinion; she is sure that the law is needed immediately. “Every day at the clinic we deal with people who purchased puppies or kittens with serious developmental pathologies from “gray” breeders. Then these people are forced to pay huge amounts of money for expensive medicines and special food. Some conscientiously pull this cross, others, having learned how much it will cost them to maintain a sick pet, immediately get rid of them. And they join the army of stray animals. The scale of this disaster is difficult to assess even for specialists, and its perpetrators do not bear any punishment; on the contrary, they only profit from it. In my opinion, such a law needs to be adopted urgently, and then, if necessary, it can be finalized.”

According to the expert, the most important thing is that easy money should leave the business of gray scammers. If home nurseries have to be registered, and their owners have to buy a license and pay taxes, then the most greedy and unscrupulous will leave this market. With the rest, the veterinarian believes, it will be possible to agree on the rules.