Police officers will be empowered to punish owners of aggressive animals

Police officers will be given the authority to punish animal owners for their aggressive behavior, as well as for non-compliance with pet care requirements. As Izvestia found out on November 13, such a bill with amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (CAO) will soon be submitted to the State Duma by the head of the Committee on Labor, Social Protection and Veterans Affairs, Yaroslav Nilov.

"We propose to expand the list of persons who can hold animal owners accountable. Today, in practice, what happens is that, for example, a woman walks in the park with a fighting dog without a muzzle, without a collar. At any moment, if the dog senses danger, it will rush at anyone, including a child. Naturally, this is a violation of the rules of walking. However, currently only officials have the authority to punish, and the police have no grounds for prosecution," Nilov explained.

According to him, it is very difficult for ordinary people to contact police officers, and such violations remain unpunished.

The deputy also drew attention to the fact that not so long ago the State Duma adopted in the first reading amendments that toughen dog walking, including a ban on walking animals drunk.

"The draft law proposes to amend Article 23.3 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation in order to directly empower officials of the internal affairs bodies [police] with the authority to consider cases of administrative offenses provided for in Article 8.52 "Non-compliance with animal husbandry requirements" of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, if officials of the internal affairs bodies [police] directly detect signs of such administrative offenses," — it is said in the text of the explanatory note that Izvestia has.

The document also notes that Article 8.52 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation provides for administrative liability for non-compliance with the general requirements for keeping animals, requirements for keeping pets, as well as for cruelty to animals and violation of the requirements of legislation in the field of animal treatment, resulting in harm to the life or health of citizens or property.

But the law "On Responsible Treatment of Animals and on Amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation" refers to such requirements, in particular, the prohibition of keeping animals included in the list approved by the Government of the Russian Federation, the prohibition of inciting animals against humans and other animals, the exclusion of the possibility of free, uncontrolled movement of an animal, as well as walking an animal outside places allowed by the decision of the local government for walking animals; prohibition of walking a potentially dangerous dog without a muzzle and leash, etc.

"Violation of these requirements is a direct threat to public safety and regularly leads to conflicts between animal owners and other citizens, as well as animal attacks on humans and other pets," the document emphasizes.

It also notes that the draft law proposes to empower officials of the internal affairs bodies (police) with the authority to directly detect signs of administrative offenses provided for in Article 8.52 "Non-compliance with animal husbandry requirements" of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, as well as to draw up protocols on such offenses and review them. This will ensure the inevitability of punishment, which is a key factor in the prevention of offenses, the document says.

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On October 30, the government of the Krasnoyarsk Territory adopted a resolution according to which additional requirements for the maintenance of pets will begin to apply in the region from March 1, 2026. So, it will be possible to walk pets in public places only on a leash. It will be forbidden to keep animals on balconies and in vehicles, as well as to let them go on a walk and visit rooms at the entrance to which there is information about restrictions on visiting them with pets.

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