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- Punishment euthanasia: dogs have attacked people in 24 regions since the beginning of the year
Punishment euthanasia: dogs have attacked people in 24 regions since the beginning of the year
In at least 24 regions of Russia, stray dogs have attacked adults and children since the beginning of 2025, Izvestia estimates. One of the latest cases occurred in Khakassia, where a pack of dogs bit a girl in the village of Shira on her way to school. The child has multiple wounds to his head, face, torso and limbs. After another tragedy, the State Duma once again started talking about the need to adopt a bill on the protection of people from stray animals as soon as possible. How much money was allocated to the regions to control the situation with stray animals and who is responsible for dogs on samovygul is in the Izvestia article.
Attack on a child in Khakassia
Drops of blood on a snow—covered path in the small Yunost park in the village of Shira in Khakassia are, in fact, the only physical evidence of an attack by a pack of dogs on an eight-year-old girl, the Izvestia correspondent, who visited the emergency site, was convinced.
The child underwent surgery, and doctors recorded wounds all over his body — on his face, head, torso, and limbs. A pensioner passing by saved the girl from imminent death.
— I saw that the dogs were beating the child, — Elena Zabolotskaya told Izvestia. — The child is on the floor, they grab her, torment her, she flies like a rag doll. In general, it seemed that the child was dead. I screamed, ran, threw a stone. I flew up to her, and she was covered in blood.
The aggressive pack that attacked the girl is not a stray one. The animals have a mistress who has already been fined twice for non-compliance with the requirements for keeping pets. This time, the investigators insisted on opening a criminal case under the article on negligence.
— As part of the investigation, the severity of the harm caused to the child's health will be determined and a legal assessment of the activities of local government officials will be given, the republican investigative committee reported.
Back in January 2022, officials of the government of Khakassia warned residents on their official website that "the situation with stray dogs is quite difficult in the republic — complaints from the population are regularly received." They reminded that you can meet stray dogs both in the city and in the countryside, and advised you to adhere to the rules of behavior that will help reduce the risks of an animal attack.
In 2025, the administration of only one municipal district of Khakassia, Bogradsky, published on the public procurement website two contracts for the provision of services for trapping and keeping stray animals for a total amount of just over 3 million rubles. According to one of the contracts, the supplier's identification has been completed. In the Shirinsky district, where the emergency occurred, information about the purchase of services for trapping stray dogs for this year has not yet been recorded in open sources.
Tragedies in Sochi and Stavropol
This is far from the first case of a monstrous dog attack on children since the beginning of this year. On February 27, in the Adler district of Sochi, two large-breed domestic dogs, which had broken loose and were unattended by their owner, attacked a nine-year-old boy and almost killed him. Locals passing by drove the dogs away and informed the boy's parents about the incident.
During the interrogation, the accused admitted his guilt and explained that he had not been able to come to his house for more than a week due to bad weather and the dogs had not been fed all this time, the Investigative Committee for the Krasnodar Territory reported. There, investigators opened a criminal case on causing serious harm to the health of a minor. The animals that tortured the child were euthanized. The owner of the animals is likely to either pay a fine or spend no more than three years in prison, the lawyers explained.
In February and March, cases of animal attacks on children were registered in Armavir.
In 2025, the Department of Public Utilities and Landscaping of the Krasnodar city Administration signed a contract to provide services for the treatment of animals without owners in the city. The contract value is 5.4 million rubles. Krasnodar shelter for neglected animals "Krasnodog" was chosen as the service provider.
An even more terrible incident occurred in Stavropol on February 23 of this year. There, a nine-year-old girl was bitten to death by dogs. A third-grade student was riding a tube downhill near the Tashla River, where cottages and private homes are located. The pack also turned out to be "domestic": the mongrels were sheltered by an elderly woman who lived nearby and let the pack out on a walk down the street.
Also in two cities of the Stavropol Territory — Mikhailovsk and Yessentuki — in February, stray dogs attacked children.
According to the prosecutor's office of the Stavropol Territory, over the period from July to December 2024, municipalities placed more than 1,150 neglected animals in temporary detention facilities. This has reduced the number of attacks on people by 45%. At the initiative of the regional prosecutor's office, 73 million rubles have been allocated in the Stavropol budget for 2025 for the construction of a temporary animal detention facility in Nevinnomyssk. The prosecutor's office also oversees the construction of a new shelter "Best Friend" in Stavropol.
The last contract for the provision of services for trapping and keeping neglected animals in Stavropol was signed in February 2024 in the amount of 1.3 million rubles. The funds were allocated for the needs of the Budyonnovsky municipal district.
Since the beginning of 2025, cases of dog attacks on humans have been recorded in at least 24 regions, Izvestia estimates. More than 30 people suffered from their bites. The largest number of attacks was registered in February.
So, in the village of Romny, Amur region, dogs attacked a 10-year-old boy and inflicted bodily injuries on him, a criminal case was opened. In Yekaterinburg, a pack of stray dogs attacked a woman, knocking her down and biting her. And in Serov, animals bit a teenager.
Also in early March, in the Mozhaiskoe Sea settlement in the Moscow region, an American Akita dog attacked a woman walking with a shiba inu and a pomeranian. She suffered multiple injuries. The Main Investigative Department for the region has opened a criminal case under Article 118 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (causing serious harm to health by negligence).
What laws protect people from dogs
In 2023, Russian regions got the right to decide on their own what to do with stray animals. Laws have been passed in 15 regions allowing them to be euthanized under certain conditions. In two more regions — Mordovia and Khakassia — the relevant amendments will come into force in the near future.
Among the regions that have legislatively approved the possibility of euthanizing neglected animals are the Murmansk, Astrakhan, Samara, Kemerovo and Orenburg Regions, Stavropol, Altai and Trans-Baikal Territories, Udmurtia, Tuva, Khanty-Mansiysk and Chukotka Autonomous Districts.
Euthanasia is also allowed in Buryatia, Yakutia and the Magadan region, but animals in shelters are not euthanized there.
In February 2025, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin instructed the Committee on Family Protection, Fatherhood, Motherhood and Childhood, together with other relevant committees, to prepare standards for the protection of children from attacks by stray dogs. Biysultan Khamzaev, a member of the health protection committee, said at the same meeting that 237,000 Russians had suffered from stray dog attacks in 2024 alone. The deputy noted that the current legislation does not protect citizens from such tragedies.
Once again, the issue of protecting people from attacks by street animals was discussed in the State Duma on March 4, 2025. In particular, they discussed the preparation of a high-profile bill that would allow regions to euthanize orphaned dogs after a period to be set by local legislative assemblies.
The document, sponsored by 24 deputies from different factions, proposes to exclude from the law the norm according to which an animal returns from the shelter to its habitat after capture, vaccination and sterilization. To do this, the regions are given the authority to independently set deadlines for keeping animals in shelters. If an animal stays in a shelter for longer than the prescribed period, it is proposed to be killed in a humane way, it follows from the draft.
Vyacheslav Volodin argued at the plenary session for the need to adopt the bill.
— Last week, dogs actually killed children every day," he said. "What is this?" And someone starts criticizing this decision. The highest value is a human being, and we must protect him. And even more so, the child cannot protect himself. Therefore, the discussion of the norm will be open.
He added that the bill has already been sent to the regions for feedback.
The price of negligence
If a person is attacked by stray dogs, then the official responsible for ensuring the safety of citizens should be brought to justice in the municipality, Egor Panin, partner of the Avex Yust law firm, recalled.
According to him, if it is proved that this person performed his duties improperly, a negligence case may be initiated.
And if, due to his inaction, serious harm was caused to health or a person died, then the penalty for it can be up to five years in prison. If there are more victims, then up to seven years.
But if the attacked dog belongs to a specific owner, then the degree of responsibility for its actions is significantly less, the lawyer noted. So, if a dog has caused serious harm to health, the owner can be brought to criminal responsibility under Article 118 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, according to which the maximum penalty is six months of arrest. And if no serious harm has occurred, then liability will be limited to administrative punishment.
Egor Panin noted that stray dogs are "a very vague concept."
— People often feed and care for animals in various territories, such as construction sites or landfills. In such cases, it is possible to try to establish the actual owner only by indirect evidence," he said.
Alina Laktionova, director of the St. Petersburg office of Mitra, head of private client practice, recalled that there are both federal and regional laws regulating responsibility for the behavior of pets.
Thus, Article 8.52 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation (on non-compliance with the requirements for keeping animals) provides for a fine of 10 thousand to 30 thousand rubles for dog owners whose pets have caused harm to health or property due to non-compliance with the rules of keeping. But regional legislation may provide for its own sanctions.
— For example, according to the Administrative Code of the city of Moscow, allowing a pet to attack another pet, resulting in injury or death of the latter, entails a fine of 4 thousand to 5 thousand rubles, she said.
Also, Alina Laktionova noted, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation obliges the culprit, whose dog has caused harm to health or property, to compensate the damage in full. In addition, if a citizen applies there, the court will determine the amount of moral damage caused by a dog bite.
— And if a stray dog is bitten, the local authorities responsible for trapping stray animals are responsible for this — this is federal legislation, the law "On Responsible Treatment of Animals," the expert said.
She also added that victims receive compensation, the amount of which depends on the severity of the damage, court costs and other factors.
— Large compensations are possible, but, unfortunately, they are extremely rare when it comes to the need for, for example, plastic surgery,— Laktionova said.
She noted that, for example, in a situation like with a girl from Khakassia, a parent will have to go on parental leave and, most likely, the child will need the help of a psychologist and tutors while skipping classes. And it is almost impossible to recover such expenses, the expert believes.
The burden of proof in court falls on the shoulders of the victim or his representative, Egor Panin added. He also noted that the court is likely to satisfy the claims for reimbursement of material costs associated with the treatment. However, one should not expect significant compensation for moral damage, the lawyer said.
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