Krasnodar, 1 June. Stray dogs present a threat for people in the Krasnodar region as well as other Russian regions. The truth of this phenomenon is proved by the attention paid to it by the federal authorities. Say, last week the State Duma adopted in the second and third hearings amendments to the Administrative Offences Code which established penalties for dog owners for the bites (in case of lack of signs of criminal offence). Their amount may reach as much as 200,000 roubles. Another important clause provides that a person who threw away their pet to the street will also be fined for up to 30,000 roubles. Bearing in mind that the problem of stray dogs is to a great extent related with the lack of responsibility of their owners, the new amendments may help turn the tide.
The Krasnodar region has also adopted a number of new regulations. One of them, for instance, bans contacts with stray animals and feeding them in settlements. It will come into force on September 1, 2023. The document faced a wave of criticism from public activists, pet defenders and public figures. Vladimir Burmatov, First Deputy Chair of the State Duma’s Committee on Ecology, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, called this decision “awkward” and stressed that such ban will kill volunteers’ aid.
“Most of animal shelters in Russia are run by volunteers, on whose shoulders they can survive by fits and starts. What is more, in the regions that are successful from the viewpoint of regulation of the populations of stray animals, volunteers, on the contrary, are offered various favourable conditions, including patronising concrete animals. After all, a well-fed animal is an unaggressive animal,” Vladimir Burmatov wrote on his Telegram account. However, opposite views also exist. For instance, Vladimir Golubev, President of the Russian Canine Federation, says that feeding stray animals just aggravates the situation, which has to be dealt with by another means.
