Dog owners will be fined for improper dog walking. What you need to know

The State Duma has adopted a law on liability for violations of the rules governing the walking of animals. Violators will be punished with fines. How the "dog" laws work, what the owner is obliged to do for the pet and whether the dog can be on the playground - in the material "Izvestia".

There is a law, but no responsibility

- The law on administrative responsibility of animal owners supplements Article 8.52 of the CAO with provisions on fines for improper dog walking. The punishment will affect those who walk pets of potentially dangerous breeds without muzzles or let them off the leash in an inappropriate place. Individuals will be fined from 1.5 thousand to 3 thousand rubles, legal entities will have to pay from 15 thousand to 30 thousand - this is how they will fight against "dog protection" in industrial zones.

- The Moscow Regional Duma proposed to introduce fines for dog breeders back in 2021. At that time, neither the Moscow Region law on compulsory dog registration, nor the federal law "On Responsible Treatment of Animals", regulating the rules of keeping and walking, provided for specific measures against violators. At the moment, fines for such offenses are established only on the initiative of the regions.

- The reason for toughening the legislation was complaints about aggressiveness of pets and irresponsibility of owners. In the analysis of the association "Animal Welfare" it is noted that in the period from 2001 to April 25, 2023 as a result of dog attacks in Russia killed at least 133 people, including 28 children. Most often people suffer from attacks by guard dogs in industrial areas and domestic dogs that are on so-called self-walking.

Where and how to walk a dog

- According to the law, a pet must be on a leash in the city. It can be let off the leash only in the areas designated for walking animals by local authorities. When walking a dog, it is necessary to take measures to ensure the safety of citizens, animals, the safety of property of individuals and legal entities - such requirements are defined in the law "On Responsible Treatment of Animals". Exceptions in the law are made for guide dogs: these animals undergo special selection and training and are not inclined to show aggression.

- Dog breeders object that ensuring the safety of others is a vague concept, because even a dog on a leash and in a muzzle, not intending anything bad and just showing emotions in its own way, can scare a person. But socialization of the pet, teaching it to behave in society is one of the responsibilities of the owner. Although there is no direct requirement in the law to educate a dog, the owner will have to answer for an uneducated animal. Kinologists believe that even before taking home a puppy, a person should learn the "technical minimum" of handling a dog. Special attention should be paid to the training of the pet, which will allow to cope with the aggression of the animal against people, other animals and other people's property.

- For potentially dangerous dogs, a leash and muzzle are mandatory, even on a walking area. They may only be let loose in a fenced area that belongs to the owner of the dog and has a warning sign at the entrance. The list of potentially dangerous animals includes animals with genetically determined increased aggression and strength, specially bred for baiting, as well as breeds that appeared as a result of natural selection and whose habits have not been fully studied.

Another mandatory requirement is that the owner must clean up after their pet on the walk. There are no other conditions for walking in the federal law, but the regions have the right to establish additional requirements and even set fines for their violation. For example, in Moscow there are "Temporary rules for keeping dogs and cats", according to which it is forbidden to appear with a dog without a leash and muzzle "in stores, institutions, playgrounds, markets, beaches and transportation". At the same time the owner can leave the pet for some time tied on a short leash near a store or institution: for large dogs a muzzle is obligatory. Control over compliance with the rules of keeping animals in Moscow is carried out by a public inspection.

"Self-walking" or neglect

- It is not uncommon for owners to provide their pets with the so-called "self-walking" - letting them out for the whole day in the urban environment without a leash, muzzle and any supervision. In the text of the document there is no concept of "AWOL", but, in fact, it is a direct violation of the law. If a person let the dog out in the morning, only to let it home at night, it means that all this time he does not take care of the pet: does not feed it, does not walk it in a proper place, does not care about its safety and allows cruel treatment of it, as well as does not comply with the requirement to ensure the safety of others and other people's property.

- There is an article "Non-compliance with general requirements to the maintenance of animals" in the Administrative Code, but pets are excluded from it. Thus, until now, owners have not been held liable for disregarding the law. It comes only in case of cruel treatment of an animal and can be both administrative and criminal: if the offense is committed for hooligan or mercenary motives, or with the purpose of causing pain and suffering to the pet, and resulted in injury or death of the animal, criminal liability is incurred. Also under the Criminal Code is the situation if cruel actions against an animal are committed in the presence of a child.

- Experts believe: if a dog is on the street without an owner, the algorithm of actions of executive authorities should be the same as with stray dogs. Such pets should be caught, checked for diseases and placed in a shelter. In this case, at least, there is a guarantee that the dog will not be starved, it will not be hit by a car and will not become a victim of aggression of other animals or people.

- In 2023, the law "On Responsible Treatment of Animals" was supplemented with a clause according to which the owner must exclude the possibility of "free, uncontrolled movement of the animal outside the places authorized by the local government for walking". This amendment was called the prohibition of "self-walking". But it is difficult to bring animal owners to responsibility, because the fact of violation is difficult to prove. When it comes to fines, a negligent owner can disown his dog and thus absolve himself of responsibility. Pet registration should solve this issue.

Registration and labeling: what is the difference

- Currently, mandatory registration of dogs is introduced in 26 regions of the Russian Federation. In the database of the veterinary automated system, information about the animal and its owner is entered, and the result of registration is a registration certificate with a unique number. It confirms the owner's ownership of the dog. In addition, thanks to the registration, veterinarians will be able to plan the annual vaccination of animals against rabies, and the regional authorities will be able to decide in which district a dog park should be built.

- One of the pioneers in this regard was the Krasnodar region, where such a requirement came into force on October 24, 2016. There is no mandatory chipping or branding for such animals, and putting a pet on the register is essentially voluntary. There is no information on how the number of stray animals has changed due to registration in the region. Moreover, there are no centralized statistics on the number of stray dogs in the Russian Federation.

- In the Moscow region, mandatory registration for dogs has been in effect since September 2023. Although there are no fines for refusal to register, by the end of July 2024, about 6.8 thousand pets had been registered in the Moscow region. Such activity of citizens is partly explained by the fact that a veterinary passport is required for transportation of animals by passenger transport within the country, and when a pet is issued a veterinary passport, it will also be registered. For traveling abroad, this document alone will not be enough - chipping will be required.

- Compulsory marking - chipping, tagging, branding or tattooing - applies only to farm animals for the time being. For domestic cats and dogs, labeling remains voluntary. In many regions, voluntary chipping is promoted as the most modern and effective method of finding a pet in case it goes missing. But experts note that due to its non-mandatory nature, this measure will not help to raise the consciousness of owners. Those who practice free walking or can simply throw their dogs out on the street, will not be engaged in chipping, and conscientious owners of animals did it even before the law appeared.

- The unpopularity of chipping is also connected with additional expenses for owners: if the registration procedure itself is free of charge, the installation of a microchip is carried out only for a fee. And, despite the fact that this is the least painful way of marking the pet, there is still a contraindication to it: when conducting MRI to the animal microchip can distort the result. However, in any veterinary clinic the chip can be removed before the examination.

- Cynologists believe that only widespread chipping will help to change the culture of keeping animals: thanks to it it will be possible to establish the responsibility of the owner in case his dog has bitten someone, damaged the property, or, on the contrary, turned out to be a victim of violence or was thrown out on the street. In addition, the chip will help track compliance with the law regarding sterilization of pets: according to animal rights activists, uncontrolled breeding of dogs is one of the reasons for the appearance of stray dogs on city streets. Experts also note that the registration of pets should become ubiquitous, and the authority to track violations should be assigned to a specific agency, as it is not yet clear who is responsible for this.

When preparing the material, Izvestia talked to and took into account the opinions of:

• Ekaterina Dmitrieva, director of the Foundation for the Protection of Urban Animals;
• Vladimir Burmatov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Ecology;
• Vladimir Golubev, President of the Russian Cynological Federation.