Mandatory registration of dogs to be introduced in Tatarstan from 1 January

“The procedure for voluntary registration of dogs does not solve the issue of reducing the number of stray animals”

At the sixth meeting of the State Council of Tatarstan, deputies approved a bill on mandatory registration of dogs. The law will come into force on 1 January 2025.

“The currently valid procedure for voluntary registration of dogs in the republic does not solve the issues of reducing the number of stray animals, increasing the responsibility of dog owners, or the issue of finding a lost pet,” stated head of the Main Veterinary Department of the Cabinet of Ministers of Tatarstan Almaz Khisamutdinov.

According to him, the total number of dogs in Tatarstan currently exceeds 111,000. At the same time, in 2017-2024, at the request of citizens, state veterinary institutions registered only 14,100 animals. “This is about 13%. We think it is very little,” stressed the head of the Main Veterinary Department of the Cabinet of Ministers of Tatarstan.

The adoption of the proposed law will be the first step towards reducing the number of stray animals in the republic, Khisamutdinov believes.

“A measure to increase the social responsibility of dog owners will be the next step — the introduction of mandatory registration of dogs by their owners,” he added.

Deputy Chairman of the State Council Committee of Tatarstan on Ecology, Nature Management, Agro-Industrial and Food Policy Nazip Khazipov spoke positively about the bill. There were no comments or questions from the deputies. 85% of them voted in favour, there were no votes against.

Fines for independent dog walks and keeping pets in public places

The initiative was submitted to the State Council Committee of Tatarstan on Environment and Nature Management two weeks ago. And at the meeting of the Expert Council of the Interdepartmental Coordination Committee on Legal Issues, a number of bills were considered back in October. They proposed making dog registration mandatory from 1 January 2025, and introducing fines for violating the rules for keeping pets from 1 July 2025.

At the October meeting, they discussed establishing fines in the amount of 2,000-4,000 rubles for such violations as:

• allowing a dog to independently leave the territory belonging to its owner;
• keeping pets in common areas of apartment buildings and in their adjoining territories;
• failure by the dog owner to carry out mandatory registration of the pet.

“In 2017, when we started registration, we registered an average of about 3,000 dogs, which was 2.3%. In 2019, when the draft Federal Law No. 498 appeared, registration jumped sharply, there were about 4,696 dogs, which is 3.7% of the annual number. And since 2021, there has been a sharp decline: in 2021, 939 dogs were registered, in 2022 — 532, in 2023 — 65 dogs, and at the current time, only 34 dogs have been registered voluntarily,” said deputy head of the Main Veterinary Department of the Cabinet of Ministers of Tatarstan Ildar Nugumanov two months ago.

Then the Main Veterinary Department proposed a bill that introduces an article into the Code of the Republic on Administrative Offenses on the violation of additional requirements for keeping pets, including walking them.

“The bill is aimed at increasing the responsibility of pet owners and creating a more comfortable and safe environment for residents of the republic. The issue of reducing the number of stray animals remains socially significant for most regions of the country. They [dogs] are born at home and then become stray,” Nugumanov said.