State Duma Rejects Bill “On protection of animals from brutal treatment”

March 24. VOSTOK MEDIA – The State Duma finally rejected the the federal law “On protection of animals from brutal treatment” last week. The law had totally been discussed for 11 years in the parliament, the Noviye Izvestiya newspaper reports.
The rejection of the bill has become a real tragedy for animal protectionists who say the law might have been very humane. It prohibited many experiments in medical universities, violent training in circuses, steel traps for fur game and also stipulated the rules of maintaining animals in the urban area. The latter could protect city dwellers from aggressive dog breeds.
Deputies argue the law had too many controversies. Now it must be readjusted.
The bill on protection of the animal rights was submitted to the State Duma in 1997 but was forwarded for revision because of its controversies.
For example a point of the law completely prohibited dog fighting when another one provided a list of the breeds which can be engaged in fighting. The controversies were not adjusted and the law was withdrawn from the Duma’s agenda last week.
“Now animal rights in Russia are regulated by the laws “On the animal world”, “On the sanitary-epidemiological wellbeing of population” and also by Civil and Criminal Codes,” Natalya Komarova, chairperson of the committee for natural resources and ecology, says.
Nevertheless, lawyers and animal protectionists plan to elaborate another law. “We still don’t know how the work will go. The previous document could be rejected because touched upon too many spheres of business. For example, steel traps for fur game. It was one of the most humane laws in Europe.”