The law on animals is torn off the leash – Newspaper Kommersant No. 67 (7512) of 04/18/2023
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The head of Orenburg, Sergei Salmin, instructed his subordinates to prepare a draft amendment to federal legislation regarding the treatment of stray animals. The reason was the death of a child who was attacked by a pack of dogs. Under the current law, stray animals can only be chipped and released, while Orenburg officials insist on expanding the powers of municipalities in this area, as well as introducing liability for owners who let dogs out into the street without supervision. Meanwhile, a draft law has been submitted to the State Duma, giving the authorities of the regions the opportunity to independently determine the procedure for handling stray animals “taking into account the geographical, climatic, socio-economic and other specifics of the region.”
The administration of Orenburg will prepare a legislative initiative to solve the problem of stray animals. The corresponding instruction was given to officials by the mayor Sergei Salmin after the death of a child last Sunday. A pack of stray dogs attacked a boy near a garage cooperative on Koltsevaya Street in the Industrial District. The child died from injuries at the scene.
The Regional Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case on negligence, which negligently caused the death of a person (part 2 of article 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and the provision of services that do not meet safety requirements, which negligently caused the death of a person (clause “c” of part 2 of article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The investigation was taken over by the regional prosecutor’s office, which began an investigation into the incident, and the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. The head of the central apparatus, Alexander Bastrykin, demanded that the head of the regional department of the department, Vyacheslav Zuderman, submit a report on the progress of the investigation of the criminal case.
Employees of the specialized ANO “We found you a friend” have already found a pack of stray dogs on Koltsevaya Street. Three individuals are previously sterilized, as evidenced by the corresponding tags, so they are not subject to seizure and must remain on the street. Four other dogs were caught by specialists and taken away. After carrying out the appropriate procedures and installing the tag, they will be released into the street in three weeks, the administration reports.
Orenburg officials acknowledged the facts of repeated appeals of citizens in connection with the aggression of homeless animals on Koltsevaya Street. They claim that representatives of the contractor went to this address and took homeless animals for overexposure, then the animals were released into the wild. “We are doing all the necessary work aimed at reducing the number of stray animals, but we cannot go beyond the law,” Mr. Salmin said. “Catching, tagging and releasing dogs into their former habitat are the requirements of federal law. However, this does not solve the problem in essence – the dog does not become loyal and kind, it also wants to eat and fights for food. According to the mayor, “sterilization will lead to a natural loss of stray animals, but it is obvious that the process is going very slowly.” Currently, the number of stray dogs in Orenburg exceeds 6 thousand individuals. This year, the city received 2.5 million rubles for their capture and sterilization. from the regional budget.
Sergei Salmin believes that “the law does not allow regulating the number of stray animals,” and “the allocated money does not allow achieving the desired result.” Therefore, more radical measures are required, says the head of Orenburg.
The appeal and legislative initiative will concern the expansion of the powers of municipalities in this area, as well as the introduction of mandatory registration and accounting of pets. In addition, it is planned to provide for the introduction of liability for owners who let dogs go outside without supervision, and establish criteria for determining the degree of aggressiveness of animals. The authorities of the Orenburg region draw attention to the fact that they have already sent similar proposals to the federal center, but have not received support.
The city administration found it difficult to name “Kommersant” the timing of the preparation of new legislative initiatives, specifying that they will be drawn up in accordance with the procedure established for all subjects of the Russian Federation.
Meanwhile, amendments to Federal Law No. 498, which regulates relations in the field of handling animals without owners, made to the State Duma by a group of deputies, including the former head of the Ministry of Natural Resources Dmitry Kobylkin, shortly before the mentioned incident, on April 12. The document proposes to give the authorities of the regions the opportunity to independently determine the procedure for handling stray animals “taking into account the geographical, climatic, socio-economic and other specifics of the region.” The press service of the State Duma Committee on Ecology, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection (its head is Dmitry Kobylkin) referred to the statistics of Rospotrebnadzor: “Over the past year, the number of dog bites of people amounted to 227 thousand cases.” They talk about a lot of appeals from affected citizens: “We have animal rights activists on one side of the scale, and parents whose children have been bitten by dogs on the other.” At the same time, the State Duma urged to focus on the fact that “the bill is not aimed at execution and cruelty to animals, and everything should be as loyal as possible and without extremes.”
However, animal rights activists are confident that the amendments “will untie the hands of knackers and legitimize cruelty.” According to Yulia Trefilova, representative of the Animal Welfare Association, “the bill received a positive response from the government of the Russian Federation.” “There is a humane approach in the current law: homeless animals need to be caught, sterilized, vaccinated, and only then released. Thus, you can gradually reduce their number. If the issue is left to the regions, the animals will be destroyed already legally.” “The initiative was lobbied by the regions, which failed to fulfill their obligations under the current legislation,” said Mrs. Trefilova. The association believes that in a number of subjects, in particular Dagestan, Yakutia and the Astrakhan region, they continue to simply shoot dogs.
Regular attacks stray dogs on people speak of the need to change laws and euthanize such animals if they are not taken from shelters after being captured. Sergey Ivanov, special envoy of the President of the Russian Federation for environmental protection, ecology and transport, said this in a commentary to the Rossiya 24 TV channel on Monday.
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