On the Protection of Homeless Animals in the European Union and in Ukraine

Abstract

The article examines the functioning of animal shelters in the European Union and effective ways to provide assistance to homeless animals in both the EU and Ukraine. A set of measures to reduce the population of homeless animals by humane methods, namely the method of "catc /sterilization/return to the street" was also analyzed. It is noted that the state policy of Ukraine aimed at euthanasia as a method of regulating the number of homeless dogs is inhumane, not modern and ineffective. Given the need to improve the legislation of Ukraine on the protection of stray animals, it is necessary to highlight, in particular, the main elements of this process, the effectiveness, harmonization and systematization of legislation of the European Union and Ukraine. These elements can affect the change of existing and the formation of new regulations. It should be borne in mind that the value lies in the quality and not in the number of acts adopted. This is what affects the ethical, cultural and moral education of society. In 2013, Ukraine ratified the 1992 European Convention for the Protection of Pets, which sets out the basic principles of treatment of pets and stray animals, in particular: the principles of keeping pets, restrictions on their use for commercial purposes, lists the permissible cases of surgery on animals and their euthanasia, measures that may be applied to stray animals, in particular to reduce their numbers and to exclude their capture for euthanasia, etc. In recent years, the topic of protecting animals from cruelty has become relevant. This is due to a significant increase in cases of cruelty to animals, namely homeless people. Animal cruelty is unfortunately becoming a norm of behavior, affects the relationship between people, plays a negative role in raising children. At the end of the twentieth century, the World Society for the Protection of Animals was created (1981) by merging two animal protection societies - the World Federation for the Protection of Animals (WFPA), founded in 1953 and the ...