The government has decided to clamp down on the owners of what it describes as aggressive dogs, requiring them to purchase insurance to cover the medical bills of people injured by their pets. However, dog breeders have questioned the grounds on which some breeds are classified as dangerous, while owners are skeptical about the new regulation’s enforcability.
The resolution, signed by Prime Minister Anatoly Kinakh on July 9, lists 88 dog breeds whose owners must obtain insurance policies when registering them. The list includes Dalmatians, German Boxers, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Old English Mastiffs and Rhodesian Ridgebacks.
A dog insurance policy will cost Hr 17 annually. Under the policy, up to Hr 30,000 can be claimed by individuals who can prove in court that they were incapacitated physically or mentally in an unprovoked attack. Up to Hr 11,000 will be available to the families of victims of fatal dog attacks.
All dog owners are currently required by law to obtain a passport for their pet along with a medical certificate and shot records. Those failing to register their dog can be fined or risk having their dog seized and destroyed if it runs away.
Stanyslav Navalny, a dog breeder and member of the Kyiv City Administration’s Animal Welfare Council, said he favored the new bill, but he questioned the criteria for classifying some of the breeds on the list as “aggressive.”
“Dalmatians? These dogs are not belligerent by nature,” he said, adding that the disposition of canines depends mostly on the character of their masters.
“Dog owners have become more cultured and refined over the past several years. Walking around town with a big brute tugging at the leash and trying to escape is not very chic,” he said.
According to Viktoriya Berdanskaya, who specializes in training Pit Bull Terriers, many prospective owners are not equipped psychologically or physically to own aggressive dogs.
“I sit down and have a long chat with anyone before I agree to help someone acquire one,” she said.
She also questioned the government’s list of aggressive breeds.
“Part of the problem is that we are led to believe that there are certain types of dogs that are extremely aggressive and vicious (like pit bulls) when, in fact, some of the breeds that are more likely to bite are those you’d never think about, like poodles,” she said.
Officials in the city police said dog owners are forbidden from letting their pets run amok in public or taking them on public transportation. Police officers occasionally patrol parks where people walk dogs to see whether owners are abiding by the law, police officers said. Failure to do so may result in a fine ranging from Hr 51 to Hr 119.
However, these measures appear to do little to deter dog owners from violating the law.
Hryhory Borodin, the owner of a 130‑pound Akbash (an ancient guard dog breed originating in Turkey), said he doesn’t fear police patrols in the park and is not planning to comply with the new regulation. He said the regulations requiring dog owners to keep their pets muzzled and leashed in public places have never been enforced.
“My dog is my insurance,” said Borodin, who has walked his unleashed and unmuzzled Akbash around the City Gardens and Mariyinsky Park for the past three years without any problems.
