Cobras, lions and crocodiles: Russia has approved a list of prohibited animals

The Government has approved a list of animals prohibited from being kept at home. It includes cobras, tigers and lions, crocodiles, lizards and some bird species. Izvestia found out how the banned animals would be seized, who would do it, and what would happen to the seized pets.

New list

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has approved a list of animals that are prohibited from being kept at home. The order has been published on the legal information portal.

The updated list includes 121 species of animals that are difficult to keep in captivity or pose a threat to humans. The restrictions apply to wild mammals and some species of reptiles, birds, fish, amphibians and arachnids. The list of mammals includes large predators (tigers, lions, leopards), elephants, rhinos, hippos, hyenas, primates, as well as bears, wolves and foxes. Also, according to the document, it is forbidden to keep crocodiles, venomous and large snakes (cobras, mambas and pythons), lizards (Komodo lizard), turtles with shells larger than 30 cm, venomous spiders (including black widow), scorpions and some tree frogs at home.

The ban also applies to marine life, including sharks, rays, moray eels, electric eels, as well as mammals such as whales, seals, walruses and manatees. The list also includes some bird species, from ostriches, flamingos and penguins to owls and cranes.

The restriction does not apply to animals kept in zoos, circuses, aquariums, dolphinariums and other licensed organizations. The decree will enter into force on September 1, 2025 and will be valid for six years, until September 1, 2031.

The previous version of the list was in effect from January 2020. The old list included more than 100 species of animals, including large predators, venomous snakes and arachnids, and marine mammals.

Sale of animals

Despite the current restrictions, cases of wild animals being sold and kept at home are regularly recorded in Russia. In November last year, a tigress named Laura was seized from a resident of the Krasnodar Territory, whom a man kept chained in a barn and beat.

Circus trainer Vitaly Dovgalyuk, where the animal was taken for overexposure (then Laura was taken to a hospice for wild cats in the Leningrad region), told reporters that the tigress was beaten and depressed. She's afraid of people.

"The shovel cuttings, the bars— everything was breaking on the tigress. That is, he was trying to get her to go in the direction he wanted in this way. He was just destroying it," he said.

Laura is currently in hospice care. According to the staff, there she "cheered up and started eating." A case of animal cruelty was filed against the former owner and he was fined 2.5 thousand rubles. It turned out that he bought the animal "with his own hands" and without documents.

Last August, an emaciated lion cub was dropped off at a veterinary clinic in Moscow. The owners bought the animal online, kept it at home for a while, and then took it to the vet and left. According to the prosecutor's office, the lion cub was about 1.5 months old, he was starving and suffered from several diseases.

A few days earlier, another 1.5-month-old lion cub was rescued in the capital, which was found on the street outside a cafe. The owner had no documents, so the animal was taken away. Both cubs are in the Rehabilitation Center. Experts have not ruled out that the animals may be brothers, and they were sold by the same people.

The Izvestia correspondent managed to find several offers for the sale of lion cubs on ad services and on social networks. Now they have been removed from publication — but the ads called the price of 75-80 thousand rubles, offered delivery, documents or a choice of any animal from the litter. Some wild animals are still being sold — for example, for a fox they ask from 25 thousand rubles, for a wolf — from 35 thousand rubles. Pythons in online stores of exotic animals cost from 35 thousand rubles.

"Many animals won't recover anymore"

Experts interviewed by Izvestia call the problem of selling wild animals relevant to this day. As a rule, they are purchased by wealthy people to show off to friends or on social networks, says Svetlana Safonova, director of the Giving Hope Animal charity foundation.

— We had a story when a volunteer of the foundation saw a sick lion cub that had been abandoned in an ordinary car service in the Moscow region. We selected him, treated him for a long time, raised a healthy handsome man and sent him to Tanzania, to a national park. There are many such stories, but they don't always end well, and animals come across in terrible condition," Safonova says.

Viktor Agafonov, director of the Pride Land Shelter Park, explains that keeping such animals in apartments can be dangerous both for themselves and for their owners. Small spaces, improper nutrition and care, lack of proper walking have a bad effect on the health of animals.

— For example, the same lion cub or tiger cub needs to be constantly on the street, run a lot, jump — in an urban environment, it is impossible to provide this in an apartment, — he says. — Almost all the pets of our park are "rescued", confiscated by Rosprirodnadzor from private individuals, traveling circuses, zoos, who decided that animals are toys, they do not need specific conditions. Now the animals are on lifelong maintenance and treatment, and many will never fully recover.

At the same time, experts say, in the case of mass withdrawal of animals, there may be a problem with their housing. Zoos won't take such pets — they need healthy animals with documents. And there may not be enough places in rehabilitation centers, shelter parks, and public organizations.

— High-quality centers are needed, where conditions are met for keeping animals with the right area, and so on. For example, for a lion or tiger, there should be at least 100 square meters — and this, in fact, is not enough. Then the animals will be more or less in suitable conditions. But at the moment, of course, this problem is acute," says Agafonov.

In addition, Svetlana Safonova adds, it is important that the law prescribes the rules for the removal of animals from owners. And it is important that these rules are uniform for all regions of the country.

The legal side

As Igor Kim, a lawyer and member of the expert council under the Commissioner for Human Rights, explains to Izvestia, the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation approving the list of animals prohibited for domestic use entered into force on January 1, 2020. However, if the animal was purchased before this date, by law it can remain with the owner until the moment of its natural death.

— While the new law does not have clear criteria for responsibility for keeping wild animals at home, it is only about seizure. These animals do not fall under the administrative offense provided for in Article 8.35 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation ("Causing harm to rare and endangered species of animals, plants or other organisms listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation and (or) protected by international treaties of the Russian Federation, including their destruction"), — says the lawyer.

At the same time, lawyer Sean Betrozov adds, administrative responsibility is provided for keeping animals from the prohibited list. According to Article 8.52 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation:

— citizens: fine from 1.5 to three thousand rubles;

— officials: from five to 15 thousand rubles;

— legal entities: from 15 to 30 thousand rubles.

If, as a result of the violation, harm was caused to life, health or property, the fines are increased to 30 thousand rubles for citizens and up to 200 thousand rubles for legal entities. In case of serious consequences, criminal liability may occur, including under articles on causing harm by negligence.

— If such an animal is kept in your house or area, you should immediately call 112. The operational services are required to ensure the safety and organize the removal of the animal. You can also send a complaint to the territorial divisions of the Rosselkhoznadzor or to the prosecutor's office. These bodies are authorized to carry out inspections and initiate cases of administrative offenses," the Izvestia interlocutor explains.