There will be a leash: animal owners plan to be punished for human death
In Russia, criminal liability may be introduced for pet owners for the death of a person due to negligence due to pet attacks. United Russia deputies have prepared such a bill with the addition of Article 109 of the Criminal Code with new norms for submission to the State Duma. The maximum penalty proposed by the deputies is three years in prison. According to experts, the bill deserves support, as cases of pet attacks on people have recently become more frequent, including those that ended tragically.
Why don't the owners keep an eye on their pets
As Izvestia found out, amendments to the Criminal Code were prepared for submission to the State Duma by the first deputy chairman of the Committee on Ecology, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Vladimir Burmatov.
"It is proposed to supplement Article 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with part 4 of the following content: "Causing death by negligence due to violation of the requirements for the treatment of pets," says the draft law, which was reviewed by Izvestia.
According to the new rules, the guilty pet owner is proposed to be punished with restriction of liberty for up to three years, or forced labor for the same period with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities, or imprisonment for the same period of time.
— Recently, cases of pet attacks on people have become more frequent in Russia, including fatal ones. This is, for example, the tragedy in Stavropol, where a nine-year-old girl was killed by dogs. The police in the region informed me that the person involved in the case turned out to be a woman who had these animals in her house, she was breeding them uncontrollably. There was also a recent attack on a boy in Sochi by two huskies who also had an owner. Then there was an attack in Yekaterinburg by a Rottweiler on a mother with a child, whom the woman was shielding from the savage dog," Vladimir Burmatov explained to Izvestia.
The deputy stressed that all these animals had owners. According to him, even if it is negligent, but in fact, the killing of citizens is being committed, but currently there is no separate responsibility for animal owners for this.
109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, causing death by negligence is punishable by correctional labor for up to two years, or by restriction of liberty, forced labor or imprisonment for the same period. If it is a question of causing death by negligence due to improper performance of their professional duties, the sentence is increased to three years.
— I believe that this new rule will be of great preventive importance for pet owners, who are often not punished properly, getting off with fines. But if an article appears in the Criminal Code that the death occurred due to an attack by a pet due to an oversight of the owner, then the owners will understand that they can get a real sentence," the deputy explained.
He also announced the preparation of another bill to amend the Administrative Code, which would propose increasing the fine for unauthorized dog walking to 50 thousand rubles. Currently, for individuals it ranges from 1.5 thousand to 3 thousand, legal entities will have to pay from 15 thousand to 30 thousand rubles.
— That is, if an animal walks without the supervision of the owner, then in case of detection it will have to pay a fine, even if the animal has not harmed anyone. Firstly, such a dog potentially becomes a victim of doghunters, that is, it may be in danger. Secondly, it can endanger the health and lives of other people," the deputy said.
Izvestia sent a request to the government with a request to comment on the prospects for supporting the bill.
Why is the owner of the animal to blame for the tragedy
The Russian Guild of Dog Handlers is ready to support the initiative.
— In my opinion and experience in this field, the problem of dog attacks is always the fault of the people themselves. Either it's the owners who don't properly educate their pet, or it's the state and society if this dog is homeless," Nikolai Zakharov, president of the organization, told Izvestia.
At the same time, punitive measures alone are not enough, he believes.
"The state needs to conduct educational and awareness—raising work so that people understand what responsibility they take on when they bring in animals, as well as when, without thinking about the safety of others, they let them out unattended," the expert explained.
Kirill Goryachev, vice president of the Moscow Society for the Protection of Animals, believes that owners who allow unsafe walking should certainly be punished. At the same time, in his opinion, there are enough tools in Russia for this. At the same time, he noted that criminal cases are being initiated against such animal owners, but for some reason no serious penalties are imposed on them.
— Many owners of dangerous dog breeds do not take measures for the safety of others today, as they do not feel any responsibility for this. The norms that exist in the Criminal Code today, on the one hand, can be applied to them, but on the other, as a rule, the perpetrators do not receive significant punishment for them. Therefore, if there is a special norm with a separate punishment, it will be a good disciplining and preventive measure," Oleg Pavlov, head of the Public Council at Rospotrebnadzor, explained to Izvestia.
According to him, every owner who gets a dangerous breed of dog should understand and be aware of the consequences of the actions of an animal left unattended.
According to Rospotrebnadzor, in 2024, 237 thousand people in Russia sought medical help due to dog bites. At the same time, almost every year the parliament passes various bills to strengthen control over both domestic and stray animals. So, in 2024, responsibility was established for violating the rules of walking pets. In 2023, a law was passed allowing regions on their territory to adopt regulations on the euthanasia of stray animals, attacks on people also happened quite often. However, the deputies themselves admit that these measures are not enough yet.
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