Parliamentary Committee Recommends Animal Protection Bill

The Ecology Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine supported bill No. 6598, aimed at protecting animals from cruelty and implementing European standards in legislation.

People’s Deputy Pavlo Dzyublyk reported that the document had been developed over approximately 9 months with the participation of an authoring team and animal protection advocates. Director of the Kyiv Ecological-Cultural Center Volodymyr Boreyko called it “a huge super-protective project.”

Key provisions of the bill:

• Prohibition of killing and euthanizing domestic and stray animals
• Strengthened punishment for cruelty (from 2 to 3 years without suspended sentences)
• Humane standards for keeping farm animals
• Prohibition of commercial photography with animals
• Mandatory registration, vaccination, and sterilization of animals

AZOU Vice President Maryna Surkova emphasized the relevance of the project due to the problem of “doghunters” and illegal killing of animals in Ukraine.