The State Duma will support the law on labeling animals

The draft law on mandatory registration and labeling of animals can be adopted by the State Duma in the first reading on April 19. As Izvestia found out, most factions of the State Duma are ready to support him. Deputies consider it important that the norms take into account not only farm animals, but also pets - cats and dogs. The Ministry of Agriculture intends to make such an amendment.

The department noted that the bill could come into force on September 1, 2022. The experts noted that registration and marking of animals at the initial stage should be voluntary so as not to scare away the population.

As Izvestia found out, the draft law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation in Part of Improving the Legal Regulation of Relations in the Field of Veterinary Medicine” can be adopted by the State Duma in the first reading on April 19. The document proposes to introduce mandatory registration and labeling of animals in Russia, information about which will be contained in a single database of the Federal State Information System in the field of veterinary medicine.

This information was confirmed to Izvestia by the staff of the Agrarian Committee, which recommended that the bill be adopted in the first reading.

Our committee approved the bill. It was originally planned that it would be considered in January, but the deadlines were shifted to April, the committee explained.

The new norms are proposed to be applied to farm animals. These include cows, rabbits, pigs, sheep, goats, bees, fish, camels, reindeer.

However, as Izvestia found out earlier, by the second reading of the bill, the Ministry of Agriculture will introduce amendments that will extend the accounting and mandatory labeling standards for pets - cats, dogs and other animals. This information was confirmed by the press service of the department.

- The draft law currently under consideration in the State Duma is supposed to be finalized by extending its effect in terms of marking and recording animals also to non-agricultural animals, in pursuance of a list of instructions based on the results of checking the implementation of legislation and decisions of the president on the formation of a responsible attitude towards animals, - the ministry explained to Izvestia.

They also specified that the bill could come into force on September 1, 2022. At the same time, the registration of animals subject to labeling will be carried out within the time limits established by the government, but not earlier than March 1, 2023.

The explanatory note to the bill emphasizes that the registration of animals will be kept free of charge by special authorized persons of bodies and organizations that are part of the state veterinary service, as well as by certified specialists. As for marking, the document calls for the approximate cost of special funds for it at the time of drafting the bill.

So, for example, a tag can cost citizens from 14 to 20 rubles, and its installation - from 50 to 70. A subcutaneous chip will cost more - from 90 to 140 rubles, and another 50-100 for its implantation. The most expensive ways will be tattooing and branding - from 200-500 rubles.

As Izvestia found out, most factions are ready to support the bill. At the same time, the deputies consider it important that the new rules apply to all animals.

“We still insist that we have the registration of non-productive animals, that is, cats and dogs. We even agree that at first this procedure should be voluntary only for responsible owners in order to make this system work effectively, ”the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Ecology, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, a representative of the United Russia faction, told Izvestia » Vladimir Burmatov.

At the same time, he noted that the lack of accounting for pets hinders the entry into force of a number of provisions of the law "On the responsible treatment of animals", as well as amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses, for example, for throwing an animal out into the street, for biting.

- All these regulations require that animals be registered. Then unscrupulous owners can be held accountable,” the parliamentarian explained.

The LDPR shares this opinion.

- Closer to consideration, we will study this bill, but in general, there are correct measures. Labeling and recording of animals is needed to increase the responsibility of pet owners, who often abandon them. For example, the homeless huddle in packs and attack people, which often leads to death, - Yaroslav Nilov, deputy chairman of the faction, explained to Izvestia.

In A Just Russia - For the Truth, they also consider the norms important, but propose to divide them into two bills.

- In my opinion, it would be better to make the registration and labeling of pets a separate bill, without mixing them with farm animals. These are two different topics, with different measures of responsibility, ”Oleg Nilov, deputy chairman of the faction, explained to Izvestia.

According to him, it is clear that such labeling of pets, especially dogs, should appear. Each owner is obliged to chip his animal and be responsible for it. Then, in case of loss of the pet being thrown away or its attack on another person, it will always be possible to establish whose animal it is, the deputy emphasized.

In the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, on the contrary, they believe that registration and labeling are necessary only for farm animals. The party notes that in many regions this helps to identify suppliers of low-quality meat and poultry, but cats and dogs can do without tags.

Nikolai Zakharov, president of the Russian Cynologists Guild, categorically disagrees with this opinion.

- The law on the registration and labeling of domestic animals, of course, must be adopted. This will protect the animals from negligent owners, and will also help to find a pet in case of loss. But at the initial stage, it is necessary that the marking procedure be voluntary so as not to scare the population away from it, the expert explained to Izvestia.

He stressed that the practice of recording animals has long been used throughout the world. At the same time, the expert noted that Russia does not yet have an identification infrastructure (scanners for reading chips and equipment for implanting them, a single database of animals in the public domain, etc.), which will need to be created.