Kazakhstan wants pet owners to register animals starting from September 1, 2023

Citizens of Kazakhstan will be obliged to register all pets they own starting September 1, 2023, according to Aliya Shalabekova, vice-minister of ecology, geology and natural resources.

As the official noted, the agency is going to prepare a detailed procedure for the mandatory registration. Since pet owners are supposed to pay for the procedure, the government is going to reimburse payments for those who are considered a vulnerable population.

The new legislation is aimed at a total ban on dogs walking off-leash. The authorities also want to fight the problem of stray animals. In some cases, they want to trap a stray animal, keep it for a while and then terminate it. The draft law also regulates the issue of stray animals’ vaccination and sterilization. Under the new legislation, any animal shelter has to follow the new rules and standards of owning dogs and cats as well as registration of these animals.

Once entered into force, the new law will prohibit the practice of irretrievable trapping of stray animals. In the future, the government plans to regulate the population of stray animals only by sterilizing them at the expense of the state budget. However, if there is a sign that an animal has an owner, the authorities would restrain from sterilizing such an animal.