Homeless animals in the Lower offer to keep in shelters for 90 days

The government of the Nizhny Novgorod region has prepared a bill that enshrines the concept of an extraordinary situation due to homeless animals. The document was submitted to the regional parliament.

Changes to the regional law on the treatment of animals without owners are needed to ensure a balance between protecting the rights of citizens, protecting public order and humane treatment of animals, the explanatory note says.

The regime of an extraordinary situation is proposed to be introduced by the governor's decree - when other measures do not allow to ensure the safety of people. The bill spells out key concepts, including “unmotivated animal aggression.”.

The grounds for the introduction of the regime may be the infliction of death or serious harm to human health, an increase in the number of animals twice compared to the same period last year and an increase in cases of injuries to people from animal attacks.

When the regime is introduced on its territory, all stray animals will be caught and kept in shelters for 90 days. In the current version, the term is 20 days for primary capture and 90 days for repeated capture.

Also, the government of the region proposes to prohibit the killing of animals, except for cases on veterinary grounds. Similar rules already apply in 18 regions of the Russian Federation; Nizhny Novgorod authorities relied on their experience.