Violators of the veterinary rules will be deprived of compensation for seized livestock

How the new rules will work, using the example of the Amur Region, was explained in the Veterinary Administration of the Amur Region.

“The new rule will affect pet owners in the event of an outbreak in the region of a particularly dangerous disease, such as African swine fever (ASF), foot-and-mouth disease or avian influenza. Previously, the owners of dead animals received payments in the amount of the value of the lost livestock or poultry in any case. Now only conscientious livestock breeders will be able to claim 100% compensation,” the veterinarians explained.

 “Earlier, in the course of investigations into outbreaks of ASF and rabies, we repeatedly saw numerous violations in farms. People, despite the obvious risks, completely ignored not only veterinary rules, but also logic. For example, they released cows into the forest in winter, despite numerous reports of rabid wolves and foxes. This resulted in a clear injustice. Even if we knew exactly who was responsible for bringing the disease into the village, as a result of which all its inhabitants lost their livestock, this person received exactly the same payments as the rest of the victims. Now the situation has changed, and we expect that the new norm will encourage pet owners to comply with the elementary rules of veterinary safety,” commented Sergey Samokhvalov, HEAD of the Veterinary Department of the Amur Region.

The expert noted that in the event of a dangerous infection entering the livestock complex, an enterprise that has lost the right to compensation for damage faces serious losses, and in some cases bankruptcy.

The veterinary department reported that in 2019, about 50 outbreaks of African swine fever were recorded in the Amur region. All owners of animals lost as a result of ASF received the payments due to them. “Including people who hid their pigs from specialists, and also did not report death cases in time, contributing to the spread of the virus. Specialists from a number of departments have made tremendous efforts to stop ASF. As a result, the damage to the region's agriculture amounted to about 300 million rubles," the veterinary department said.

Now, under the new legislation, violators of veterinary rules will be able to refuse compensation or reduce the amount of payment. The new payment procedure is prescribed in government decrees No. 139 of February 1, 2023 and No. 140 of February 1, 2023, as well as in Federal Law No. 222 of June 28, 2022.