A proposal has emerged in Ukraine to prohibit citizens from breeding and selling pets during martial law and for 5 years following its conclusion.
This initiative was announced on October 31, 2024, on the official website of the Cabinet of Ministers' electronic petitions. Violators of this ban may face fines. As of November 6, the petition has garnered only 130 signatures out of the required 25,000.
The petition's author suggests banning the breeding and sale of animals for the duration of martial law and for an additional 5 years after it ends. Offenders could face fines ranging from 8,500 to 68,000 UAH.
Interestingly, a similar petition was submitted back in June 2022. At that time, the author proposed amendments to the law "On the Protection of Animals from Cruelty," specifically to:
- add to Article 22 a prohibition on breeding and selling animals during martial law and for 5 years after its conclusion;
- add to Article 8 a prohibition on breeding and selling wild animals.
Regarding penalties, the petition author suggested amending the Code of Administrative Offenses, particularly to add a fine of 500 to 1,000 UAH and confiscation of animals to Article 154-1. This petition received 4,348 votes.
Currently, fines for animal cruelty are outlined in the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses (KUAO). According to Article 89 of this code, animal owners face the following penalties:
- For acts of cruelty causing physical pain, but not resulting in bodily harm, fines range from 3,400 to 5,100 UAH.
- For cruelty involving two or more animals or committed by a group, fines range from 5,100 to 8,500 UAH, or administrative arrest for up to 15 days with confiscation of the animals.
- For violations of animal transportation rules (which are also classified as cruelty), fines range from 3,100 to 5,950 UAH.