Almaty dogs are under lockout (or lockdown) – after Minister of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources and Almaty Mayor introduced new Dog Walking Rules.

On the Tight Leash

If to be brief, by new Rules, home pets, dogs, in particular, are now deprived from almost everything they could enjoy in the past.  This city has no place to walk a dog without a leash.  Exception was made for fenced yards owned by dog masters.  The recommended length of a leash to walk a dog is now not more than 2 meters. 

Areas, specially designated for dog walking offer similar limitations.  Dogs must have muzzles on, and the leashes must be longer than 2 meters.  Under such requirements, those areas lose their sense.  In Almaty, there only are 14 areas for pet walking.  6 of them are in the Auezov District – micro-districts 1, 8, 10 and 11, as we as one in the vicinity of the Rayimbek Ave. and in Mamyr-4 micro-district.  Not that many for a megapolis. 

The Rules introduced earlier this year also state that smaller dogs may walk in specially designated areas without muzzles, but their owners must at all times be on them.  In other places, small dogs and pups must have muzzles on, even if their health condition requires their owners not to put muzzles on.

Writings on the Wall

If a person owns a pet, that requires special responsibility, and here we are discussing 59 breeds, including such, as huskie, malamute, dalmatian, chihuahua, bull-dog and shar-pei, such pet must at all times be equipped with a muzzle, even in dog walking areas.  The only exception was made for the houses of people who own those dogs.  Such houses must have warning sings on them.

Those are not all limitation.  Some territories from now on will have signs – “No entry with dogs”.  Regularly, such signs are installed on the buildings of district administration bodies, but it is not very much clear what requirements those bodies use to determine where those signs are to be installed.  The answer to that is not seen anywhere.  In other words,, such a sign may be installed on any house, the owner of which does not like home pets and wishes to thus limit the freedom of movement for pets and their owners.  Which, in fact, is a contradiction to the Constitution.

Pets may not attend cafes and restaurants, except of war and guide dogs.  In case an owner of a common dogs breaks that rule, she or he will pay the penalty in the amount of 10 Monthly Calculation Indicators, which amount totals 34,500 or 40 Monthly Calculation Indicators.

“Canineinform Writing”

Of course, novelties do not just jump out from the blue.  All of them have authors and lobbyists.  The above limitations and constraints were written by the Office of the Almaty Mayor, which office, in doing so, was based on instructions coming from the Ministry of Ecology, which Ministry lobbied its adoption, while the Almaty Maslikhat issued the final approval of the rules regulating the dog walking procedures in Almaty.  Those rules were approved and introduced in legal effect within 10 days, following the first official publication in public domains. 

On 17 January 2023, the Resolution #209 approving those rules was filed with the Kazakhstan Legal Norms and Regulations Register on 25 January 2023, as Entry #178240.  Under the entry, one might see the signature of the Chair of Almaty Maslikhat, Mr. S. Kankurov.

When Almaty pet lovers addressed Maslikhat for comments, they were re-addressed to the Ministry of Ecology and advised that “clarifications as to individual norms and provisions should be sought there”. Looks like, it is particularly in the Ministry where the pet haters should be sought.

Help or Hazard

Although the Government decided to make our life more secure, after dogs attacking compatriots, and wanted to ASAP adopt the Law Concerning Responsible Animal Handling, our life, as well as lives of ou pets did not improve.  Pet rights activists report numerous cases of violations and perpetrations. 

To investigate what particular violations were observed, we approached Ms. Karina Saltanova, Pet Rights Activists Dog Handler and American Staffordshire Terrier breeder.

— What is the situation today, that dog owners are facing?

 — Dog owners and their dogs found themselves in absurdity – this city no longer offer enough space for dog walking.  We need to understand that some dogs have anatomic constitution that complicates their breathing processes.  Their owners now must at all times make sure their dogs have muzzles on.  While being in those specially designated areas, the owners no longer can unleash their dogs for free roaming, which means dogs will suffer from insufficient physical activity.

— What are the complications that you personally face?

— I breed Staffordshire Terriers, which is a fighting breed.  I encounter a lot of problems associated with muzzles – society think that I breed aggressive and brutal dogs, while my dogs show no aggression.

As for special dog walking places – there are problems there, as well.  For example, today it is prohibited to walk with dogs in public parks.  One complication is the lack of signs, that would advise people whether dog walking is allowed or prohibited in public places.  Also, I often encounter problems in public transportation, although I follow all rules regulating handling of pets in public transportation.  Entering a bus with a dog is next to impossible.

I think, that if the laws were written by pet lovers, they would not be that absurd.  As a minimum, those rules are not comfortable for pet handling.  I think it is the high time, we allow pets inside trading malls, instead of keeping them in confined spaces at home.  Walking a dog is like taking your child outside.  We need to understand, that there are people out there, for whom pets are not animals, but family members.

— What sort of compromise do our society need, so that people are not afraid of dogs, and the latter are given opportunity to move freely?

—  I think, we must introduce the mass vaccination, chipping and sterilization of stray dogs, as they are the circulators of infections and madness. Aggressive dogs, as rule, are stray. If we solve the problems with them, they will not pose threat to home pets and people.

Besides, we got more topical problems – others than deprivation of dogs and dog lovers from the walking areas.  In Kazakhstan, far more serious problems are associated with violence, harassment and other types of crime. Those are things, that should be taken care of in the first instance.

I would like to walk with my dog, without necessity to put a muzzle on that dog, especially if we are out in places, where there are not many people – forests or mountains. I would like to be confident that in the case of emergency my dog will protect me, not just stay there in a muzzle.  Perpetrators, who know that the law is on their side, may avail themselves of the law. 

I think, Animal Rights Activists could make some adjustments to the new law.  For example, dogs could be allowed to walk freely everywhere, once they have muzzles on, or dog could be unleashed in special places.  I think people grew upset because of those particular limitation.  I would like our Government to allocate funds allowing indigenous dog breeding reach a brand new level, as well as create more comfort for dogs and their owners.