Bomb Shelters Will Now Allow Pets

Pets will now be allowed in bomb shelters! The Ministry of Internal Affairs has prepared an order with the corresponding changes.

Due to numerous cases of pet owners being denied access to shelters with their animals during air raids, and the resulting public outcry, the Association of Animal Protection Organizations of Ukraine — AZOU — appealed to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to revise Order No. 579 dated 09.07.2018 “On Approval of Requirements for the Use and Accounting of Civil Protection Shelters” and to lift the ban on bringing animals into shelters.

In response, the Ministry of Internal Affairs together with the State Emergency Service prepared a draft order, which was later approved as Order No. 18 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine dated 10.01.2024.

The order removes the ban on bringing animals into civil protection shelter facilities. People arriving at shelters with pets are placed in separate rooms or designated areas.

The order also establishes responsibilities for people accompanying pets. In particular, they must ensure:

• constant supervision of pets;
• necessary conditions appropriate to the biological, species, and individual characteristics of the pet;
• safety of surrounding people, animals, and property from harm by the pet;
• compliance with sanitary-hygienic and veterinary norms and rules;
• use of a leash for pets that may pose a danger to human life or health, as well as a muzzle on dogs of breeds included in the List of Dangerous Dog Breeds approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution No. 1164 of November 10, 2021.