For brothers no less: fines for discarded animals are planned to increase 10 times
The senators want to toughen the punishment for owners for discarded pets — they plan to increase the fines by 10 times. The bill with such amendments to the Administrative Code is sent for review to the government. For individuals, the penalty can be up to 30 thousand rubles, for officials — up to 100 thousand, for legal entities — up to 300 thousand. Today, if an animal is abandoned, the owner must transfer it to a new owner or to a shelter. The Russian Guild of Dog Handlers believes that the size of the fine will stop someone, but the effectiveness of this measure will be low. According to experts, the problem lies in the lack of mandatory registration of animals: in such conditions, it is very difficult to identify the owner and bring him to justice.
Why is the punishment for throwing animals away not enough today
The maximum fine for the release of pets for citizens may amount to 30 thousand rubles, for officials — 100 thousand, for legal entities — 300 thousand. It is proposed to increase the punishment by 10 times. As Izvestia found out, a bill with amendments to the Administrative Code has been prepared for submission to the State Duma by Senator Ayrat Gibatdinov.
Currently, according to the article of the Administrative Code "Non—compliance with animal welfare requirements", fines for throwing a pet onto the street for citizens range from 1.5 to 3 thousand rubles, for officials — from 5 to 15 thousand, for legal entities - from 15 to 30 thousand.
According to the explanatory note to the draft law, which Izvestia has, the law "On Responsible Treatment of Animals" obliges owners to ensure proper pet care. In case of renunciation of ownership rights or the impossibility of further maintenance of the animal, it must be transferred to a new owner or to a shelter, where appropriate conditions can be provided. However, these requirements do not stop citizens from simply throwing their pets outside. At the same time, Russian regions currently have no money to finance shelters.
According to open sources, the cost of keeping a stray dog in a shelter can reach 240 thousand rubles per year, the document explains. Thus, regions with budget deficits may experience difficulties in organizing the maintenance of a stray animal.
— We must bring order to stray animals without resorting to inhumane methods. It is known that in a number of regions, local authorities have already passed laws on the euthanasia of such dogs and cats. From their point of view, this seems to be a logical measure, since their budgets do not have funds for the maintenance of shelters, which mainly exist today at the expense of enthusiastic volunteers. But we see how difficult it is in the current difficult economic situation," Airat Gibatdinov explained to Izvestia.
According to him, a larger amount of penalties should make citizens think about their actions and their consequences. The senator also proposes to amend the Budget Code, according to which 100% of the fines of negligent owners will be credited to regional budgets.
As Izvestia reported with reference to Vladimir Burmatov, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Ecology, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, up to 100,000 animals are thrown out in Russia every year. According to him, as a rule, people in September and early October abandon those whom they took in April and May.
Izvestia sent a request to the government with a request to assess the prospects for supporting the initiative.
Will fines stop negligent owners
Punishment for the release of animals should be strengthened, Oleg Lebedev, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Ecology, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, is convinced.
— Responsibility must be substantial, as such actions against our younger brothers are simply unacceptable. But along with this measure, it is necessary that Russia introduce not voluntary, but mandatory registration of pets, as only it will allow us to establish the fact of who threw their animal into the street," the deputy, who proposed holding expert parliamentary hearings on this topic, explained to Izvestia.
Cases when owners throw away their pets occur regularly, Nikolai Zakharov, president of the Russian Guild of Dog Handlers, confirmed to Izvestia.
— Therefore, of course, such a problem exists. But the key here will not be the amount of fines, but the mechanism for identifying the person who threw the animal away. Of course, pet identification has already been introduced in many regions, but not all Russians chip their animals," the expert explained.
According to him, pedigreed pets, as a rule, have a stamp or a chip, but they are thrown out extremely rarely.
— Of course, the increase in fines will not be worse, maybe it will stop someone, but the effectiveness of this measure will be low. Therefore, we need to work more to conduct explanatory and educational work with the population so that a culture of animal treatment is formed," Nikolai Zakharov emphasized.
Kirill Goryachev, Vice President of the Moscow Society for the Protection of Animals, is convinced that it is necessary to increase penalties for such crimes. The punishment must become inevitable, the expert emphasized. He agrees that without the introduction of mandatory labeling of animals in Russia, it will be very difficult to identify and catch violators.
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