Deputies of Kazakhstan’s Mazhilis (the lower chamber of the parliament) approved a draft law on Responsibility for Cruelty to Animals that carries stricter penalties for such crimes.
The current animal protection legislation in Kazakhstan carries two types of administrative penalties: an $822 fee if an animal is injured or dies due to purposeful actions by one person and $1,370 if several people are involved in purposeful actions that cause injury or death of an animal.
The new draft law approved by deputies splits the first penalties into two parts and carries a stricter penalty for the second type of crime. If someone treats an animal badly and injures it, he would be punished with an $822 fee. If that animal dies as a result of cruelty, the penalty would be $1,370. Moreover, any person responsible for an animal’s death might be not allowed to work in some public areas for one year. If several people were involved in that incident a penalty might reach $6,815 or one year in prison.
Once the new law is approved two new articles will be also added to the Administrative Code: article 407-1 «Cruelty to animals» and article 407-2 «Broke of the animal protection legislation.» Both these articles carry penalties for mistreatment of animals of $34 for regular people and $68 for those who work in the public sector.
Violation of rules designed for animal trapping, housing, inventory, being outside, transportation and sacrificing of pets and stray animals would be punished with a $68 fee for individuals, $136 for officials and $205 for companies.
The draft law also bans any sort of popularization of cruelty to animals via any kind of media.
Once the draft law enters into force all animal owners will be obliged to treat their animals well. Specifically, to follow rules for housing, transportation, breeding, inventory, sacrificing and burying dead animals.
In addition, the draft law requires an authorized body to design proper rules of animal housing in breeding stations, shelters, hotels for animals and rehabilitation centers as well as set rules on how wild animals should be treated when they can’t be set free and so on.
The document also suggests that society introduce public control by Kazakhstan citizens and civil organizations in accordance with the country’s laws.
«This new draft law is designed to prevent animals from being treated badly: dogfighting, veterinary operations with no anesthesia, the unpunished killing of animals, poor nutrition or providing no adequate help and so on,» said Serikkali Brekeshev, minister of ecology, geology and natural resources in Kazakhstan while delivering a speech to the Mazhilis members.
On September 1, 2020, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in his address to the nation ordered the government in conjunction with the society to develop new animal protection legislation.
«One society’s attitude towards animals might be seen as a gauge of how deeply civilized it is, and in terms of that we aren’t [in Kazakhstan] doing very well so far,» he said.
