You can't catch a kill: animal rights activists opposed euthanasia in shelters
Problems with stray dogs arise in the regions not because of the practice of trapping and returning them to the streets, but because of its improper use - this is the conclusion reached by the participants of the zero reading of amendments to the law on responsible treatment of animals, which was held in the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation. Now the quadrupeds are being captured, sterilized, and returned to their natural habitat. Instead, it is proposed to allow regions to kill stray animals after the end of their stay in shelters. The current system does not ensure the safety of the population, the authors of the initiative believe. But the OP of the Russian Federation cited the lack of proper control over the implementation of current legislation as the cause of the problems.
What the deputies propose
The bill authorizing the regions to allow the procedure of killing animals after the expiration of the period of detention in shelters has caused a great public outcry. Elena Sharoikina, Chairman of the CC RF Commission on Ecology and Sustainable Development, drew attention to this during the zero readings of the draft law. She recalled that a number of Russian regions had held animal rights protests this weekend, which were attended by thousands of people.
So, people came to apply to the reception of the President of Russia, participated in actions in the Irkutsk region and Udmurtia, Khabarovsk Territory and Tatarstan.
The initiative proposes to empower local authorities to set deadlines for keeping animals without owners in shelters, Nina Ostanina, one of its authors and chairman of the State Duma Committee on Family Protection, Fatherhood, Motherhood and Childhood, reminded Izvestia. After the allotted time has elapsed, the animals will be allowed to be euthanized.
— Captured dogs are placed in temporary detention facilities, from where the animals are sent either to a shelter or to new owners. How long animals can stay in such a place is already a matter of the authority of local authorities and their availability of funds. If no one has taken the animal, no one needs it, we give the regions the right to consider euthanizing it," she explained.
The relevant laws on animal euthanasia have already been adopted by 27 regions, she added.
— Maybe there is no need for this somewhere, but there is a queue for such dogs or shelters are ready to pick up dogs. We don't limit them in this. And we do not set deadlines for keeping animals in temporary detention facilities in the draft law. Everything is at the discretion of the region," she assured.
According to her, we are talking about orphan animals that were not taken away by either citizens or shelters.
"And no one is attacking the shelters themselves," the deputy emphasized.
At the same time, the text of the bill refers to "animals kept in shelters," Izvestia was convinced. Several parts of the law now state that they remain there until they are transferred to new owners or until they die of natural causes, as well as they are returned to their former places of residence. But in the amendments, the wording about returning to the streets is now missing — it has been replaced by a phrase about a certain deadline for keeping animals.
And the bill introduces the same wording as a condition for killing animals — so far, the law specifies such a possibility only in the case of unbearable physical suffering of non-viable individuals.
The Family Protection Committee has already given a positive opinion, and it is planned to consider the bill in the first reading this week on March 19, Nina Ostanina added.
"The draft law is the first step in the preparation of a package of bills aimed at strengthening the protection of life and health of citizens from threats posed by stray animals," the committee said in its conclusion.
Nina Ostanina did not attend the zero readings in the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, although the organizers of the event assured that they had sent her an invitation.
How does the animal trapping system work?
The current version of the law on responsible treatment of animals provides for the obligation of shelter owners and their authorized persons to keep such animals until they return to their former habitats, Vladimir Kuznetsov, Vice President of the Association of Lawyers for Registration, Liquidation, Bankruptcy and Judicial Representation, told Izvestia.
— Now, depending on the region, the deadlines for keeping neglected animals in shelters are about 10-15 days, after which the owners of the shelter are obliged to return the animal to its former habitat, that is, the law does not provide for alternative actions, — he recalled.
Under the current regulation, killing animals is possible, but this will require a doctor's opinion on the presence of an incurable disease or an acute injury incompatible with life, the lawyer added.
In July 2024, the Constitutional Court recognized the euthanasia of stray animals as an exceptional measure that can be applied only when other measures cannot ensure an adequate level of human protection and public safety. However, the norm of the law on responsible treatment of animals, which allows regions to independently establish rules for the treatment of stray animals, was recognized as corresponding to the Constitution.
The current system, which involves the return of stray animals to their habitat, does not allow for the necessary level of public safety, the authors of the bill note in an explanatory note.
"The facts of causing serious harm to the health and death of children as a result of attacks by stray animals are tragic evidence of the impossibility of such a practice in the future," it says.
What are animal rights activists afraid of
Conceptually, the proposed bill actually abolishes such a method of influencing the population of stray dogs as their capture and sterilization, followed by their return to their former habitats, said Kirill Goryachev, vice president of the Moscow Society for the Protection of Animals.
The trapping format followed by the destruction of animals will be very convenient for unscrupulous contractors, who will not have to report on the return of a certain number of individuals to their natural environment, he believes.
He called trapping and sterilization, followed by return to habitats, a scientifically sound method that shows its effectiveness.
"Allowing animals to be killed in shelters will negate all the results achieved," he said. — Besides, it will negatively affect the population. It is impossible to reduce the risk of dangerous cases to zero, for this it would be necessary to remove all domestic dogs.
Already, in many regions, there is a problem with the fact that contractors who capture stray animals simply kill them, Ilona Bronevitskaya, head of the Domashny Fund for homeless animals and adviser to the governor of the Moscow Region on a voluntary basis, drew attention to.
— Somewhere they wrote a huge list of diseases, and some of them are treated with one pill, but it is used as an indication for killing. The commission consists of three people — a paramedic, an aviary cleaner and the director of a temporary detention facility. They sign an act, kill the dog and don't even give it to the volunteers," she complained.
The measures proposed by the State Duma deputies will not help save budget funds, she believes, since trapping and humane killing of animals will cost the same amount as their maintenance.
— Besides, it's just a huge loophole for stealing budget funds. No one will buy expensive anesthesia, they will use illegal substances from which dogs will die in agony," she believes.
The problem with safety arises not from the practice of returning stray animals to their habitat, but from its absence or improper use in a number of regions, added animal rights activist Svetlana Siebert. A system of control by the federal authorities is needed, she believes.
The problem of stray animals remains urgent, acknowledged Nikolay Vladimirov, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Construction.
"Our committee on constitutional Legislation does not support the bill in this form," he said at a meeting in the Public Chamber.
The draft law on the right to kill animals splits society, says Denis Bryunin, chief adviser to the Expert Office of the President of Russia.
— In our regions, the law on responsible treatment of animals is working normally, cases of high-profile attacks on people are not allowed, the situation is average for most of the subjects. There are still some regions where excesses occur periodically. For some reason, we propose by law to eliminate the entire system of trapping, sterilizing and returning animals," he said.
It is necessary to assess those regions that are not doing such work properly, he stressed.
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