On Monday, April 8, a petition to create an animal police unit within the National Police of Ukraine, which was published on March 6, received more than 25,000 votes. Now it should be considered by the Cabinet of Ministers. This was reported by UNN with reference to the government's website.
Details
The author of the document, the president of the Association of Animal Protection Organizations of Ukraine, Maryna Surkova, emphasizes that new cases of animal cruelty occur every year, and the police in most cases "do not have a sufficient level of knowledge" or simply do not act "because they do not consider animals worthy of their attention.
According to her, police officers sometimes do not respond to cases of animal cruelty at all, do not know the legal norms for animal treatment, cannot distinguish between administrative and criminal offenses, and are unable to carry out investigative actions within criminal proceedings under Article 299 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. In addition, in most cases, the police often do not respond to calls.
The signatories of the petition noted that it is necessary to create a specialized animal police unit within its structure, whose authorized representatives will have special knowledge in the field of animal handling.
The author of the petition, Surkova, believes that such a unit could:
- to draw up administrative protocols on cruelty to animals,
- open criminal proceedings under the relevant article and conduct pre-trial investigation,
- temporarily seize animals, monitor compliance with animal husbandry rules by animal owners.
The signatories ask the government to instruct the Ministry of Internal Affairs to create a unit of animal police within the National Police and to develop a regulatory framework for its activities by approving the relevant Regulation and vesting the animal police with appropriate powers.
Recall
This winter, Ukraine lifted the ban on animals in civil defense shelters. The amendment to the order was made to ensure everyone's right to protection.