Nativa, Sinop, v. 11, n. 2, p. 264-271, 2023.
Pesquisas Agrárias e Ambientais
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31413/nativa.v11i2.15923
ISSN: 2318-7670
Animal welfare: European standards as a basis for reforming national
legislation in Ukraine
Sofiia Y. LYKHOVA1* , Diana M. MAISTRO1, Vita V. TKACHENKO2,
Svitlana O. SHESTAKOVA2, Mikola A. MIKHAYLICHENKO2
1National Aviation University, Kyiv, Ukraine.
2Sumy National Agrarian University, Sumy, Ukraine.
*E-mail: sofia.lykhova@gmail.com
Submitted on 07/13/2023; Accepted on 08/05/2023; Published on 08/18/2023.
ABSTRACT: Nowadays, Ukraine faces numerous challenges in animal welfare, including ensuring animal
welfare, keeping and veterinary care for stray animals, protecting them from cruelty, and preserving endangered
species. These areas are important and create the need to improve national legislation and its application. The
problem is also becoming more urgent within the framework of Ukraine’s European integration vector,
accompanied by the harmonization of national legislation with EU law and the ratification and implementation
of European standards in the relevant area. The subject matter of the study necessitated the use of dialectical,
systemic, structural-functional and informational approaches. The article aims to study the legal regulation of
animal rights protection in Ukraine and analyze the animal treatment standards in foreign countries and
international organizations.
Keywords: animals; animal protection; international standards; animal cruelty; animal rights.
Bem-estar animal: Padrões europeus como base para reformar a legislação
nacional na Ucrânia
RESUMO: Atualmente, a Ucrânia enfrenta inúmeros desafios na área de bem-estar animal, incluindo as
garantias e manutenção dos cuidados veterinários de animais perdidos, a proteção da crueldade e preservação
de espécies ameaçadas de extinção. Estas áreas são importantes e criam a necessidade de melhorar a legislação
nacional e a sua aplicação. O problema também se torna mais urgente no quadro do vetor de integração
europeia da Ucrânia, acompanhado pela harmonização da legislação nacional com a legislação da União
Européia (EU), e consequentemente, pela ratificação e implementação das normas europeias dessa área
relevante, no território nacional. O objeto do estudo exigiu o uso de abordagens dialéticas, sistêmicas, estrutural-
funcionais e informacionais. O artigo visa estudar a regulamentação legal da proteção dos direitos dos animais
na Ucrânia e analisar os padrões de tratamento animal em países estrangeiros e organizações internacionais da
UE.
Palavras-chave: animais; proteção animal; padrões internacionais; crueldade animal; direito dos animais.
1. INTRODUCTION
Nowadays, human society considers animals not only as
property, but also as family members, intelligent beings with
a strong emotional attachment to and dependence on people.
With this in mind, legislation is constantly changing and
improving to ensure the protection of animals and protect
them from cruelty. It should be noted that the solution to the
problems of organizational and legal protection of animals
began to intensify in the 1960s, gradually changing the vector
from animal protection to the issue of their welfare. The
European community has proved its intention to protect
animals by adopting five major conventions: European
Convention on the Protection of Animals during
International Transportation (Council of Europe, 1968), the
European Convention for the Protection of Animals of
Farmed Animals (Council of Europe, 1976), the European
Convention on the Protection of Animals Intended for
Slaughter (Council of Europe, 1979), the European
Convention on the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used
for Experiments and Other Scientific Purposes (Council of
Europe, 1986) and the European Convention on the
Protection of Domestic Animals (COUNCIL OF EUROPE,
1987).
Ukraine is closer than ever to joining the European
Union. On 23 June 2022, the European Council announced
its opinion on Ukraine’s candidate status. Implementation of
the Association Agreement and the possibility of maintaining
the EU candidate status require changes in Ukrainian
legislation, including legislation on animal rights. Today in
Ukraine, the issue of animal protection is a rather topical one,
as there are many cases where people have an unlawful
nature, accompanied by physical violence and, therefore,
cruelty, which is unacceptable in a modern democratic state
governed by the rule of law. Animals cannot take care of
themselves on their own, and this is the need for society to
protect them. Thus, the Law of Ukraine, “On Protection of
Animals from Cruelty” was adopted (Verkhovna Rada of
Ukraine, 2006), which aims to protect animals from abuse
and death due to cruel treatment.
Unfortunately, the number of animal cruelty cases in
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265
Ukraine is increasing yearly. There are several economic,
cultural and legal reasons for this, including gaps in the
legislation governing animal protection, the legal regime of
property applicable to animals and the inconsistency of
regulations. Therefore, this situation requires special
attention from legal scholars, who can work together to
reduce the number of cases of aggression against animals. It
is worth noting that several researchers, in particular M.
Bekoff (2022), K. V. Borodata (2020), M. V. Golubey (2022),
D. Maistro (2022), K. Mamak (2022) have studied the topic
of animal rights protection. This article aims to study the legal
regulation of animal rights protection in Ukraine and analyze
animal treatment standards in foreign countries and
international organizations.
2. METHODOLOGY
The methodological basis of scientific research is a
system of approaches, principles and methods of scientific
knowledge. The theoretical and methodological basis of the
work includes a justification of the selected approaches, a
description of the principles and an analysis of the selected
research methods. The subject of the study has led to the use
of dialectical, systemic, structural-functional and information
approaches. By these approaches, the study is based on the
terminological principle of systematicity, integrity, hierarchy,
structurality, etc.
The approaches and principles are tactically embodied in
the research methods. In designing the research structure,
formal logic has become indispensable. The historical and
legal and comparative legal methods were used to study the
genesis of animal protection in the world and in the domestic
territory and to study the development of this phenomenon.
The comparative legal method was used to compare the
legal provisions providing for liability for cruelty to animals
within the Ukrainian State. The normative and dogmatic
methods, in close connection with the methods of analysis
and synthesis, allowed the author to analyze several legal acts.
The method of terminological analysis and the method of
operationalization of concepts were used in the process of
selecting a single conceptual and categorical research
apparatus. The classification method was used to study the
legal framework of administrative, legal and criminal law
regulation of animal protection against cruelty and to identify
the main principles of animal protection. The methods of
analysis and synthesis were used to study the content of legal
protection of animals and to characterize the experience of
individual countries in this area.
A number of articles related to the research topic were
also analysed, such as: “Time to stop pretending we don’t
know other animals are sentient beings” (Bekoff, 2022),
“Subjects of intellectual property rights” (Borodata, 2020),
“The sentience shift in animal research” (Browning; Veit,
2022), “The legal status of animals in modern law” (Chorna;
Mernyk, 2022), “Freedom, rights, and vaccine refusal: The
history of an idea” (Colgrove & Samuel, 2022), “Consumers ’
motivations for adopting a vegan diet: A mixed‐methods
approach” (Ghaffari et al., 2022), “Protectability and
turnover capacity of the animal breed as an object of
intellectual property law” (Golubey, 2022), “Translating
Across Difference: Affect, Animal Studies, and
Anthropology” (Govindrajan et al., 2022), “Comparative
aspect of the organizational and legal basis of animal
protection in Ukraine and EU countries” (Kobzeva; Shein,
2021), “Criminal legal analysis of the crime of “cruelty to
animals”” (Maistro, 2022), “Should violence against robots
be banned?” (Mamak, 2022), “Palliative Animal Law: The
War on Animal Cruelty” (Marceau, 2022), “Criminal law
description of the crime “cruelty to animals” (Master, 2022),
“Problematic aspects of animals as specific objects of civil
rights” (Podvirna; Livchuk, 2020), “The European Union
legislation on animal welfare: state of play, enforcement and
future activities” (Simonin; Gavinelli, 2019), “Reassessing
Animals and Potential Legal Personhood: Do Animals Have
Rights or Duties?” (SODERBERG, 2022).
3. RESULTS AND CONSIDERATIONS
The European experience in the field of animal
protection from cruelty gives grounds to conclude that the
European Convention for the Protection of Domestic
Animals No. 125 is crucial in establishing international legal
standards for the treatment of domestic animals. Ukraine
ratified the Convention by the Law “On Ratification of the
European Convention for the Protection of Domestic
Animals” on 18 September 2013, No. 578-VII (Verkhovna
Rada of Ukraine, 2013). This international document sets out
the rules that ensure the welfare of pets their owners keep for
their needs and friendly companionship. An essential
principle of animal treatment is that it is unacceptable to
cause pain, suffering or torture to an animal.
In the international space, dozens of international legal
acts are devoted to the protection of certain species of
animals (biodiversity). This institution began to take shape in
the 70s of the last century, when the first international treaties
(regional and universal, interstate treaties and agreements
within non-governmental organizations) were concluded to
protect certain species of fauna.
Interestingly, it was the Council of Europe (CoE) that
became the first international regional organization to
develop a platform for pan-European cooperation, including
in the field of animal protection. The Council of Europe has
a specialized committee, the Committee of Experts on
Animal Welfare, established in January 1977 and consists of
senior civil servants and researchers, mainly qualified in
veterinary medicine and related fields. On 20 January 1971,
the Council of Europe’s Consultative Assembly adopted
Recommendation 621 on problems arising from using live
animals for experimental or industrial purposes. It was this
Recommendation that laid the foundation for the
development of international standards for the treatment of
animals in experiments. Ukraine only acceded to the
European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate
Animals Used for Experiments and Other Scientific
Purposes on 2 May 2017.
By the way, at the national level, a draft law on
amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine on the
regulation of the procedure for issuing permits in the field of
the special use of flora and fauna was registered in 2018 to
bring the legislative framework in line with the requirements
of the laws of Ukraine “On Administrative Services” and
“On the Permitting System in the Field of Economic
Activity”, but this draft has now been withdrawn (MASTER,
2022).
Currently, the system of international standards that
regulate wildlife use in one way or another is extensive, so
researchers propose various ways to classify it. Thus,
according to the application level, the acts can be divided into
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universal and regional. The Council of Europe has several
conventions in force. It has developed recommendations
from its main bodies on animal protection: The European
Convention for the Protection of Animals during
International Transportation (1968), the European
Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals Used
for Experiments and Other Scientific Purposes (1986), the
European Convention for the Protection of Domestic
Animals (1987), etc.
The international legal regulation of animal treatment is
based on animal welfare and protection principles. In science,
these two concepts are distinguished. Thus, welfare means
keeping animals in conditions where they can be free from
disease, cope effectively with environmental adversity, and
express various species-specific behaviors in conditions
suitable for their care and use. This idea is reflected in the
World Declaration of Animal Rights, which was adopted by
the International League for Animal Rights on 23 September
1977. This concept was later used in the development of
European conventions on the treatment of animals
(HOPSTER et al., 2022).
Animal protection in science is generally understood to
mean the prevention of cruelty. Still, the regulatory
frameworks of Ukraine and the Commonwealth of
Independent States must contain this definition. Although
the Law of Ukraine, “On the Protection of Animals from
Cruelty”, actively uses this concept, it does not define it, only
providing general rules for treating animals that exclude
cruelty.
It should be noted that international organizations are
now paying more attention to the problem of protecting
wildlife as part of the ecological network. For example, the
International Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) is
constantly lobbying to adopt new legislation in animal welfare
and protection from cruelty. As part of its activities, the
organization publishes a scientific journal where discussions
on the most pressing animal welfare issues are held.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature
drafted the International Covenant on Environment and
Development (its 4th edition was adopted in 2010), which
includes “respect for all forms of life” as one of its
fundamental principles. To help farmers, the International
Organisation for Standardisation has developed a new
specification “Animal welfare management. General
requirements and guidance for organizations in the food
supply chain”. This document meets the requirements of the
World Veterinary Organisation and the recommendations of
the International Terrestrial Animal Health Code. This
document is intended to ensure the welfare of farm animals
and proper conditions for their keeping (COLGROVE;
SAMUEL, 2022).
In addition, most foreign countries have established an
animal rights institutes, NGOs and specialized animal
protection agencies. They are developing the latest
regulations that set out the rules for animal treatment. As for
Ukraine, unfortunately, we must state that our country is still
the leader in ranking countries with cruelty to animals.
Undoubtedly, the treatment of animals in the European
Union (EU) member states is no less well-defined and
enshrined in law. This issue is regulated at the highest level,
for example, in Austria, Germany and Finland. The Austrian
Federal Animal Protection Act is particularly noteworthy. It
is one of the strictest in the world in terms of the current
issue. The Austrian Animal Welfare Act incorporates animal
welfare into the Austrian Constitution, which contains the
following lines: “The state protects the life and welfare of
animals due to the special responsibility of humans towards
animals as their brothers”. The law states that it is prohibited
to chain dogs, to trade, use or possess training devices that
cause pain to pets, to cut off the ears and tails of dogs, and
to sell cats and dogs in pet shops. All 9 Austrian states have
an independent animal ombudsman who deals with animal
cruelty. Cruelty to animals is punishable by a fine of 2,000 to
15,000 euros.
To change their attitudes towards animals to an
increasingly humane one, some European countries are
enshrining their status at the constitutional level. In
particular, Switzerland was the first country to enshrine the
requirement for animal welfare. In 1994, a referendum
changed the status of animals from “things” to “sentient
beings”. In 1999, the Swiss Constitution established the
state’s powers to ensure the welfare of animals kept on farms
(Article 80 of the Federal Constitution of the Swiss
Confederation).
The protection of animals, in addition to their physical
protection, should include the prevention of any form of
psychological stress and the preservation of the animal’s
social life and companionable behavioral relationships. Every
animal should enjoy these two freedoms. To compensate for
this aspect's lack of legal regulation, some EU member states
had adopted fundamentally new modernization standards
outside of EU directives and regulations (and a certain
proportion of them entered into force before the EU became
a full-fledged unit). For example, direct legislative provisions
on animal welfare began to be formalized and transformed in
Scandinavia (Norway (2002), Sweden (1988)), Benelux
(Luxembourg (1983), Belgium (1986)), Germany (1998),
Malta (2002) and the UK (2006). However, Switzerland can
also be considered a pioneer in this area, as the Animal
Welfare Act of 1978, which focuses on the comprehensive
safety of animals, sets out clear definitions of physical and
psychological health, along with the rationale for ensuring
them (SIMONIN; GAVINELLI, 2019).
German legislation is the most progressive among other
European countries in animal welfare and protection against
cruelty. Today, the legal regulation of this federation is
naturally and deservedly considered a benchmark, a model to
follow. In 2002, Germany supplemented its Constitution
with a provision on animal protection, providing a similar
provision in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union.
Germany also has the Animal Protection Act of 1972 and
the Dogs Ordinance, as well as a legally approved system of
animal shelters. The Animal Protection Act establishes
penalties in case of violations of animal welfare rules, as well
as special taxation. German legal scholars even distinguish a
separate branch of law - Animal Rights. Germany can also
serve as a positive example of how to solve the problem of
stray animals. The legislation stipulates that three mandatory
conditions must be met: adopting regulations to limit animal
reproduction; sterilization programs, animal registration, and
the operation of shelters; and publicity and education to
address the problem (BROWNING; VEIT, 2022).
The European Convention for the Protection of
Domestic Animals plays an important role in the legal
regulation of protecting animals from cruelty, even though it
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regulates only the protection of a certain type of animal
(namely, domestic animals). This Convention establishes a
moral obligation of a person to protect and treat animals
humanely, points out the value of pets for society, and that
they have a particularly close bond. Article 3 of the European
Convention states that no one shall cause unnecessary pain,
suffering or distress to a domestic animal. No one shall
abandon a pet. Unfortunately, the latter obligation is often
violated, given the number of stray animals living on the
streets (MAISTRO, 2022).
Given the processes of European integration, which
involves the intensification of economic, political and cultural
relations, and the introduction of the principles of the
European regulatory framework into domestic legislation,
Ukraine has the opportunity to apply the provisions of the
following regulations when developing a mechanism for legal
regulation of animal treatment:
- regarding wild animals (Convention on the
Conservation of Wild Flora and Fauna and Natural
Habitats in Europe, 1979);
- Companion animals (European Convention for the
Protection of Domestic Animals 1992, Regulation (EC)
No 998/2003 of the European Parliament and of the
Council on animal health requirements applicable to the
non-commercial carriage of domestic animals);
- in respect of animals used in agriculture (European
Convention on the Protection of Animals during
International Transportation of 1968, European
Convention for the Protection of Farmed Animals of
1976, European Convention on the Protection of
Animals Intended for Slaughter of 1979);
- for animals exploited for leisure purposes (European
Commission Regulation on the health requirements for
circus animals in transit between Member States,
Council Directive on the keeping of wild animals in
zoos);
- animals used for scientific and industrial research
(European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate
Animals Used for Experiments and Other Scientific
Purposes of 1986, Council Directive 2010/63/EU on
the protection of animals used for scientific purposes,
European Commission Recommendation on guidelines
for the accommodation and care of animals used for
experimental and other scientific purposes).
Since Ukraine gained its independence and to this day,
the country has been on the path of European integration
and participation in international processes. In this regard,
Ukraine’s cooperation with the European Union, particularly
in environmental protection, is an important area of foreign
policy. However, Ukrainian legislation still does not fully
provide an effective legal mechanism for protecting animals
in the state. Ukraine is the second post-Soviet country, after
Latvia, to adopt the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of
Animals from Cruelty” in 2006, which significantly restricts
human cruelty to domestic, hunting, stray, farm animals, as
well as animals used in scientific research and education, etc.
Article 1 of the Law defines an animal as a biological
entity belonging to the fauna: Agricultural, domestic, wild,
including poultry and wild birds, fur-bearing, laboratory, zoo
and circus animals. At the same time, the legislator defines
animal cruelty as abuse of animals, including stray animals,
which cause torment, physical suffering, bodily harm,
mutilation or death, setting animals against each other and
other animals, committed for hooligan or selfish reasons,
leaving pets and farm animals to fend for themselves,
including violation of animal husbandry rules. It should be
noted that all the essential signs of cruelty are enshrined in
law, which makes it possible to identify the act in case of
violation of regulatory requirements by a person
(UVAROVA, 2018).
The Law also defines the concept of humane treatment
of animals - actions that meet the requirements for protecting
animals from cruelty and provide for a friendly attitude
towards animals, promoting of their welfare, improving their
quality of life, etc. It is worth noting that this list is not
exhaustive, but it gives an idea of the distinction between
humane treatment of animals and cruelty based on their
essential features.
Article 22 of the Law of Ukraine (the “Law”) “On
Protection of Animals from Cruelty” provides rules for the
treatment of pets that exclude cruelty. In particular, when
dealing with a pet, the person keeping it is obliged to: take
care of the pet, provide it with sufficient food and constant
access to water; enable the pet to make the necessary
movements, to contact with its own kind; ensure the
availability of a muzzle and leash necessary for walking the
pet outside the place of its permanent keeping; ensure that
the pet is wearing a collar with identifying marks; ensure
timely provision of veterinary services to the pet (MAMAK,
2022).
However, the Law does not define what is meant by
“torment” and “physical suffering” or how to distinguish
between the two. There is no liability for cruelty to animals
under the Law, nor does it have any reference to the Criminal
Code of Ukraine (Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, 2001) or the
Code of Administrative Offences (Verkhovna Rada of
Ukraine, 1984), which provide for such liability. Gaps and
inconsistencies between the Law of Ukraine On the
Protection of Animals from Cruelty and other legal acts
create a wide scope for avoiding liability for criminal acts.
Based on the above, we propose that “cruelty to animals
that caused suffering” should be understood as any actions
directed at an animal accompanied by special physical pain or
special physical suffering of the latter. “Physical suffering”
should be regarded as a special condition of an animal in
which it is deprived of normal living conditions or is kept in
conditions that do not correspond to its biological, species
and individual characteristics. Such suffering can include
water and food deprivation for a long time, placing an animal
in an inappropriate temperature regime (cold, heat), leaving
it in conditions harmful to its health, etc (PODVIRNA;
LIVCHUK, 2020).
We also consider it necessary to supplement Article 18.
General rules for the treatment of animals that exclude
cruelty of the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Animals
from Cruelty” with a reference provided to the Criminal
Code of Ukraine and the Code of Administrative Offences
of Ukraine. Ukrainian legislation provides two types of
liability for animal cruelty: administrative and criminal. For
cruelty to animals, the legislator provides for such types of
administrative liability as fines, confiscation, and
administrative arrest. The amount of the fine varies from 510
to 8500 UAH. In our opinion, this fine amount is
insignificant, since, in most cases, it does not deter offenders
but does not cause concern. In other countries, the amount
of fines is much higher.
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268
For example, Austria has established itself as a country
where animals are respected and protected since 2004. The
Austrians equate most actions that can make an animal feel
uncomfortable with cruelty. Putting an animal in captivity
(including in a pet shop window), causing physical pain and
creating conditions that can frighten an animal - all of these
are cruelty, which is enshrined in law and is punishable by
inevitable punishment. The minimum fine for violating
animal rights is $2,420, and in case of severe violence - up to
$18,160.
In the UK, in the event of cruelty to animals, such an
animal is subject to confiscation, and the owner is entered
into a special register, which prohibits him from further
owning any animals and is subject to a fine of £20,000. In
these countries, cases of animal cruelty are rare, and people
who have committed this offense at least once have no desire
to repeat it. Of course, a large amount of fines is not the main
deterrent, as society's general attitude towards animals, the
perception that they are also living beings and the cultivation
of love for them in people from an early age also play a
significant role. Regarding the Ukrainian mentality, we
believe that a comprehensive approach should be taken by
increasing administrative liability and introducing special
classes and courses into the curriculum of kindergartens and
schools (CHORNA; MERNYK, 2022).
The minimum criminal penalty is arrest for up to six
months, and the maximum is imprisonment for five to eight
years. The current version of Article 299 of the Criminal
Code of Ukraine is thanks to the Association Agreement with
the EU, as one of the requirements of the European
community was to bring legislation, including that relating to
animal protection, into line. For Ukraine, making cruelty to
animals a serious crime is an important step toward animal
protection. However, compared to the legislation of other
European countries, this provision could be more effective.
For example, in the UK, the sanction for cruelty to animals
can be imprisonment for up to 12 years. France guarantees
animals proper care, and failure to do so may result in
imprisonment for up to 2 years.
Ukraine is still gradually ratifying and implementing
international animal protection standards. For example, a
major progress was made when the Government approved
on 16 November 2011, taking into account the European
Convention on the Protection of Animals during
International Transportation, the Resolution “On Approval
of the Rules for the Transport of Animals”, which establishes
uniform requirements for the transport of wild, domestic and
farm animals. The adopted rules will ensure humane
treatment of animals during transportation and prevent cases
of cruelty to them (SODERBERG, 2022).
The most discussed issue is the European Convention for
the Protection of Domestic Animals, which Ukraine ratified
on 18 September 2013, but implementation into national
legislation is still ongoing. This convention aims to ensure the
protection of pets and their humane treatment. The
document defines the basic principles of animal welfare, the
principles of their maintenance, breeding and training,
establishes restrictions on the use of animals for commercial
purposes, and measures that may be applied to stray animals,
in particular, to reduce their number. At the same time, the
convention provides for developing information and
educational programs in pet protection and multilateral
consultations between countries in this area (BORODATA,
2020).
Also, in 2017, Ukraine joined the European Convention
on the Protection of Vertebrate Animals Used for Scientific
Purposes (although this document was adopted in 1986) and
so far, there has yet to be any practical progress in its
implementation. The reason for this is the absence of a
strategy for improving the legal regulation of animal welfare
relations, which would be aimed at consistently solving
practical problems. This leads to contradictory legal acts and,
as a result, ignorance or nihilism of the population regarding
animal protection.
On 15 July 2021, the Verkhovna Rada supported Bill
2351, which introduces European standards for the
treatment of animals in Ukraine. Animal rights activists have
been insisting on its adoption for a long time. The document
aligns Ukrainian legislation with several EU directives related
to the European Convention for the Protection of Animals.
Although Ukraine ratified this convention in 2013, its
provisions have yet to be implemented into Ukrainian law. In
the explanatory note to the draft law, its authors say that the
current article of the Administrative Code of Ukraine on
animal cruelty has not been in force for many years due to
inconsistencies in the legislation. For example, one of the
articles of the law “On the Protection of Animals from
Cruelty” prohibits dolphinariums from using any water other
than seawater, but in practice, this ban has not been enforced
(KOBZEVA; SHEIN, 2021).
All dolphinariums in Ukraine violate this article.
However, it is impossible to find them because there is no
sanction for their violation in Article 89 of the Code of
Administrative Offences. In addition, several important
norms have just been mentioned in Ukrainian laws. For
example, in the Czech Republic, the law on animal rights
explicitly prohibits the media from showing the killing of
animals, while in Ukraine, no such prohibition has been
written. It was the purpose of the draft law to correct various
inconsistencies and introduce some new prohibitions on the
treatment of animals (GOVINDRAJAN et al., 2022).
The document adopted by the Rada includes a ban on
killing animals to regulate their numbers (by poisoning,
euthanasia, etc.) and cruel treatment of stray animals. The law
also prohibits using animals in advertising for entertainment
and food establishments and keeping predatory or rare
animals in non-specialized establishments or at home,
including poisonous snakes and birds of prey. In addition, the
new rules prohibit begging and providing photo services with
wild animals - except in circuses, zoos and dolphinariums.
According to the new rules, leaving an animal in a closed car
interior is forbidden without a person in it when the air
temperature is more than +20°C and less than +5°C. It is
also forbidden to leave a pet tied up if the length of the tether
is less than 20 meters - except for guard dogs, for which the
tether must be at least 10 meters (SYNOVERSKA, 2019).
In this case, the animal - even if tied - must be able to
hide in a room or building at a temperature of more than
+20°C or less than 0°C. The new law also prohibits leaving
pets unattended in public places, like bus stops, shops, etc.
According to the document, a person can be held
administratively liable for animal cruelty from age 14 and
criminally liable from age 16.
It is worth noting that animals are often used as test
subjects for cosmetics and products we use daily. Hand
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269
cream, mosquito spray and even toilet paper are tested on
animals. To conduct a particular type of research, animals are
often specially bred or caught in the wild. Videos of these
experiments are striking in their cruelty, because testing
cosmetics or other products is not limited to applying a cream
to the skin; it also involves injections, forced injection of
components under the skin, into the stomach, etc. Today,
there is a solution to limit the number of such cruel
experiments.
First of all, we should refrain from buying such products
from companies that conduct animal testing. The website,
www.peta.org, is an information portal of People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). This site contains
complete information about a cosmetics manufacturer,
indicating whether it is cruelty-free (GOLUBEY, 2022).
Many countries are paying attention to prohibiting and
refusing to test cosmetics on animals. England was the first
country to ban animal testing to test the suitability of
cosmetics and other household products in 2002. As for the
European Union, in 2004, it banned the testing of finished
cosmetic products on animals. In 2009, EU countries
introduced a ban on advertising cosmetics that have been
tested on animals. The ban on the sale of animal-tested
products in the EU, in general, was a great achievement. Still,
the big disadvantage of this ban is that it affects only new
products on the market, leaving out old ones that have
already established themselves in the European market.
Fortunately, thanks to the fruitful work of many
laboratories worldwide, alternatives to cosmetics testing have
been developed. These alternatives either minimize the
harmful effects or eliminate the use of animals in experiments
altogether. These include: protein membrane tests; clinical
trials on volunteers; computer modeling; medical imaging
(testing the effect of drugs on metabolism by micro dosing);
in vitro tests on human skin models, etc (BEKOFF, 2022).
Unfortunately, Ukraine hardly ever uses the experience of
foreign countries in alternative means of testing cosmetics
and household chemicals. It is necessary to develop an
effective mechanism for controlling cosmetic and chemical
experiments by establishing the relevant responsibilities of
representatives of the State Environmental Inspectorate and
public environmental inspectors, including special
accounting and reporting on animal experiments. It is also
necessary to enshrine the prohibition of product testing at
the legislative level, and to develop models of local acts for
state and non-state institutions that conduct testing.
The next problem within the scope of this study is the use
of animals and their exploitation in circuses. According to
Article 25 of the Law “On the Protection of Animals from
Cruelty”, a person who keeps an animal whose use in circus,
sports and other entertainment events is impossible is obliged
to provide the animal with conditions of detention by the
requirements of this Law. It should be noted that more than
27 European countries have opted for technology and
banned the exploitation of wild live animals in circuses. The
most successful example is the Roncalli circus in Germany.
The work of 15 programmers and technicians made it
possible to recreate original animal holograms and saved live
animals from exhausting long and often cruel training.
Countries such as Croatia, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark,
Serbia, Macedonia, Estonia, and Slovenia joined the
marathon to ban the use of animals in circuses by adopting
national bans on the use of animals in such entertainment
venues. Countries such as the Czech Republic, Sweden,
Norway and Finland have developed certain restrictions that
make life much easier for animals in circuses (GHAFFARI et
al., 2022).
The ban on the use of wild animals in circuses has also
been adopted at the city level; in particular, in the summer of
2017, the city of New York introduced such a ban. It is worth
noting that not only individual states and cities, but also
circuses themselves are concerned about the problem of
animal cruelty. In particular, Circus Smirkus, Cirque du Soleil,
Flying Fruit Fly Circus, Circus Vargas, 7 Fingers Circus have
all independently refused to use animals. It is worth noting
that these circuses have not lost their audience; on the
contrary, certain technical innovations and the diligence of
acrobats have led to an increase in the circuses’ audience
(VINNARI; VINNARI, 2022).
It is worth recalling that in 2018 the Ministry of Ecology
and Natural Resources submitted a draft law to the Cabinet
of Ministers on amendments to the legislation on protecting
animals from cruelty. This particular draft law proposes to
ban the use of wild animals in the circus. The draft law
establishes a five-year transition period to develop a
mechanism for transferring animals to nature reserves and
other relevant institutions and to establish the regime for
their further living.
Ukrainian cities have also contributed to the prohibition
of animal exploitation in circuses. For example, Chernivtsi
and Kyiv have banned traveling circuses with animals on
their territories. The Executive Committee of the Lviv City
Council adopted a decision “On Humane Treatment of
Animals”, which states that exploiting animals in circuses and
dolphinariums is unacceptable.
As for the situation in our country, the relevant legislation
is still in its infancy. Of course, the legislative heritage
contains ratified acts of international law, the Law of Ukraine
“On the Protection of Animals from Cruelty”, legal liability
rules, local acts regulating this area, and a draft law with
important provisions on this issue being considered.
However, a comprehensive approach to legislative
improvement of this problem is needed. The situation
requires not only the introduction of a new version of Article
299 of the Criminal Code and the criminalization of unlawful
acts listed in the Code of Administrative Offences, but also
the introduction of an effective mechanism to ensure the
protection of animals in real life, not on paper (MARCEAU,
2022).
The first step towards establishing such a mechanism
should be establishing the appropriate responsibilities of
representatives of the State Environmental Inspectorate and
public environmental inspectors to control and supervise
animal research to avoid animal cruelty cases. It is also
worthwhile to fund and support programs that promote and
implement humane treatment of animals and prohibit the
operation of circuses, dolphinariums, zoos and other captive
animal facilities where the rules for protecting animals from
cruelty are violated.
It is worth paying attention to strengthening
responsibility for animal cruelty and opening criminal
proceedings or proceedings on administrative offenses. After
all, people often simply turn a blind eye to the killing or abuse
of animals, while animals are defenseless. Some people treat
animals as property and forget they are living beings capable
of experiencing physical pain and emotional suffering.
Animal welfare: European standards as a basis for reforming national legislation in Ukraine
Nativa, Sinop, v. 11, n. 2, p. 264-271, 2023.
270
However, legal trends and social movements in animal
protection and cruelty prevention, in particular, give grounds
to note positive dynamics and assert that society is moving in
the right direction.
4. CONCLUSIONS
Thus, the legal acts of the European Union (EU) regulate
animal protection through several directives and regulations
that constantly expand the essence of the organizational and
legal framework and improve practical protection
mechanisms. These documents aim to ensure the welfare of
animals, reduce or avoid unnecessary suffering and pain,
counteract arbitrary and inhumane treatment of animals, etc.
Taking into account the experience and national legal systems
of specific EU Member States, it can be argued that liability
for improper implementation and compliance with
regulations varies widely, and various penalties (from fines to
imprisonment) are applied in fact in the presence of any
actions that conceptually contradict established trends and
normative genesis.
There are reasons to believe that over time, animal
protection in the classical sense will become an integral
attribute of the EU legal status institution, and this will be
accumulated and stimulated at least by the rapidly evolving
views and innovative economic activities of EU member
states. EU legal acts primarily regulate people's actions to
prevent animals from being treated cruelly with intent and
without a proper or legal reason. Ukraine has recently
embarked on the path of a country that intends to take care
of the welfare of not only humans but also animals, compared
to other countries in the world. Thus, the first commitments
to bring its legislation in line with European standards in this
area were made by our country only in 1995. However, not
all European conventions to protect animals from cruelty
have been ratified by Ukraine.
The Ukrainian legislature has developed several national
legal acts covering some aspects of the right of animals to
protection. In particular, the Law of Ukraine “On the
Protection of Animals from Cruelty” is a special norm in this
area, which contains both positive and negative aspects.
Ukraine's Administrative and Criminal Codes provide liability
for animal cruelty, keeping them in inappropriate conditions,
etc.
As we can see, Ukraine is taking gradual steps in animal
protection, but this needs to be improved by the need for a
comprehensive approach to animal rights protection. There
currently needs to be comprehensive programs promoting
the humane treatment of animals. The Law “On Protection
of Animals from Cruelty” is mostly declarative, although the
amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences and the
Criminal Code of Ukraine signal that Ukraine is stepping up
its efforts to protect animals.
Thus, despite the positive developments, the legal
framework and law enforcement in Ukraine in the context of
animal protection needs to be improved. Ukraine should fully
engage in the international fauna protection process to
improve state policy effectiveness in this area. Given that
Ukraine has signed the Association Agreement with the EU,
which provides for the intensification of political, security,
economic and cultural relations, including, above all, the
harmonization of domestic legislation with the European
legal framework, I consider it necessary to further develop
and improve the current legislation in this area.
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Author Contributions: S.Y.L.; D.M.M. and V.V.T. - methodology,
research or data collection, statistical analysis, writing (proofreading
and editing); S.O.S. and M.A.M. - conceptualization, funding
acquisition, methodology, research or data collection, statistical
analysis, administration, supervision, and writing (original draft). All
authors read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: Not applicable.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement (Ethics Committee of the area):
Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement (how the data can be made
available): Data of this study can be obtained upon request to the
corresponding author or the first author, through e-mail
(sofia.lykhova@gmail.com).
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare they have no financial
and competing interests.