The governor of the Murmansk region allowed to kill homeless animals

The Governor of the Murmansk Region Andrei Chibis signed a law allowing euthanasia of homeless animals. The document is published on the website of the regional government.

Animals that experience severe physical suffering will be killed, suffer from incurable diseases and are in critical condition. The veterinarian will have to confirm this. Euthanasia are also subject to animals that are dangerous for people due to diseases and aggressive individuals.

Animal shelters will now be called temporary detention centers - they will no longer keep them there on an ongoing basis.

The human rights activist Violetta Grudin drew attention to the fact that the new law “lacks clarity” regarding the conditions of animal keeping in these “points”.

“In many cases, it seems easier to kill the animal than to create comfortable conditions for it, reducing the level of stress. Moreover, the animal can be aggressive precisely because of stress associated with the trap and content in improper conditions, and on this basis it can also be euthanized,” she said in her telegram channel.

The law comes into force on January 1. Locals opposed him. They collected more than three thousand signatures under a petition against the murder of homeless animals. It noted that this initiative can "untie the hands of the sadists." The regional authorities ignored the petition.

• In the summer of 2023, in Russia, amendments to the Federal Law "On responsible treatment of animals" were adopted, which allowed the regional authorities to decide what to do with homeless animals. After that, the authorities of at least 12 regions allowed them to kill.
• In July 2024, the Constitutional Court of Russia recognized the murder of homeless animals "an exceptional measure possible only in case of their danger to humans."
• Federal law still provides for a program for handling homeless animals. The zoo defenders investigated the practice of its application and found out that if you do not steal budget funds allocated for OSVV, then the program works.