Many owners of furry friends are still convinced that pet registration only applies to dogs. However, this is not the case – cats also need a "passport". Details were provided by the Department of Architecture and Construction, Housing and Communal Services of the District Executive Committee.
Animal registration is carried out at the "one-stop shop" service of the District Executive Committee; in rural areas, village councils handle the analogous procedure. This can be done by submitting an application. In addition to the application, an identity document must also be presented. Owners of dogs requiring special responsibility, and dangerous dogs, must have with them an identification document and a certificate of completion of specialized courses (subpara. 17.7, para. 17 of the List of Administrative Procedures upon applications from citizens).
This procedure is free of charge and is completed on the day the application is submitted. As a result, a lifetime certificate and a tag for the pet are issued. The tag must be permanently attached to the animal's collar (para. 12 of the Rules for Keeping Domestic Animals).
Only cats and dogs are subject to the specified registration. Moreover (para. 9, 10 of the Rules for Keeping Domestic Animals), these animals must be registered within 3 days from the date of acquisition. Puppies and kittens must be registered at the age of 3 to 3.5 months.
Furthermore, upon acquiring a pet, the veterinary institution at the place of permanent residence must be notified. This must be done within 3 days after acquiring the animal (subpara. 4.2, para. 4 of the Rules for Keeping Domestic Animals).
If the animal has already reached the age of three months, it must be vaccinated against rabies. Such vaccination must be done annually (part 3, para. 9 of the Veterinary and Sanitary Rules for the Prevention, Diagnosis and Eradication of Rabies).
If a citizen lives in a private house or an apartment in a terraced house, they must build an enclosure (enclosures) for animals (if kept outdoors), and also ensure fencing of the adjacent territory with a height of at least 1.7 m (in case of walking animals) (subpara. 24.1, para. 24 of the Rules for Improvement and Maintenance of Populated Areas).
In a single apartment of a multi-apartment residential building, no more than two animals (dogs, cats) can be kept. If several tenants (owners) live in the apartment, no more than one animal per family of each tenant (owner) is allowed. You only need to obtain consent for this from all adult residents (subclause 3.1, clause 3 of the Rules for Keeping Pets).
Important: these requirements do not apply to private houses or apartments in semi-detached houses!
The owner must keep animals directly in their own dwelling. This means that keeping animals in auxiliary premises is prohibited (subclause 16.7, clause 16 of the Rules for Using Residential Premises).
If pets leave the dwelling (for a walk, relocation, etc.), the animal owner must take measures to exclude the possibility of them causing harm to other citizens, animals, and polluting common property located in auxiliary premises and on the adjacent territory (clause 9 of the Rules for Using Residential Premises).
It is necessary to comply with the requirements for walking domestic dogs and cats. Thus, their walking in the adjacent territory is prohibited (subclause 5.2, clause 5 of the Rules for Keeping Domestic Dogs and Cats). During walks, a dog must be kept on a short leash and with a muzzle, except for puppies under three months old and decorative dogs up to 25 cm at the withers, which can be walked on a leash without a muzzle.
Dogs must be walked only in designated areas (subclauses 4.4, 4.5, clause 4 of the Rules for Keeping Pets). Persons under 18 years of age and persons in a state of alcoholic intoxication are prohibited from walking potentially dangerous dog breeds.
Dogs and cats can only be taken for walks in common areas if they have been vaccinated against rabies (subclause 3.7, clause 3 of the Veterinary and Sanitary Rules for the Prevention, Diagnosis and Eradication of Rabies)!
When walking, a dog or cat must be accompanied. Otherwise, the animal will be considered stray. Within a populated area, such an animal will be subject to capture, even if it has a tag, collar, and muzzle (clause 15 of the Rules for Keeping Pets).
Currently, legislation mandates certain payments to be made only by dog owners (Chapter 29 of the Tax Code, subparagraph 4.6 of paragraph 4 of the Rules for Keeping Pets). The dog tax must be paid quarterly from the moment the dog reaches the age of three months (paragraph 1 of Article 309, Article 311 of the Tax Code).
The amount payable for each quarter is (paragraph 1 of Article 310 of the Tax Code): 67 rubles for a potentially dangerous breed dog; 14 rubles in other cases.
The following are exempt from tax payment (paragraph 1 of Article 309-1 of the Tax Code): disabled persons owning a guide dog; disabled persons of Group I and II; disabled persons of Group III. However, this exemption applies only to one dog. If there are more dogs, the tax must be paid.
In addition, citizens who have reached the general retirement age – men aged 63 and older, women aged 58 and older; who are entitled to an old-age pension with a reduction in the general retirement age – are exempt from tax payment. Pensioners are granted benefits for only one dog!
Also exempt from tax payment are parents (adoptive fathers, adoptive mothers) raising children with disabilities under the age of eighteen; in large families with three or more children under the age of eighteen. They are exempt from paying tax for only one dog!
Those residing in single-family or semi-detached houses are also exempt. They can be exempt from paying tax for one dog.
The tax amount is included in the rent (part 1 of paragraph 2 of Article 312 of the Tax Code). It is included in the utility bill for the corresponding month.
In case of violation of animal keeping rules, administrative liability may be imposed in the form of a fine ranging from 1 to 15 basic units (part 1 of Article 16.30 of the Code of Administrative Offences).
If the violation of the specified rules has caused harm to people's health or property, the liability will be more severe (part 2 of Article 16.30 of the Code of Administrative Offences): a fine from 10 to 30 basic units, or community service, or administrative arrest.
In case of change of residence, change of owner, or death of a pet, you must contact the district executive committee with your passport or residence permit. After submitting an application for deregistering the pet, the documents are sent to the organization providing housing and communal services at your place of residence.
A dog requiring special owner responsibility is a dog of a specific breed, as well as its hybrids and crossbreeds, distinguished by particularly large size (withers height exceeding seventy centimeters) and/or particular aggressiveness towards individuals and/or animals, included in the list of dog breeds requiring special owner responsibility, determined by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus (paragraph 27 of Article 1 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus of April 1, 2024 No. 361-Z "On Responsible Treatment of Animals").
List of dog breeds requiring special owner responsibility: Akbash, Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog (Otto), American Bandog, American Bulldog, American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Anatolian Shepherd, English Mastiff, Bandog, Belgian Shepherd, Bulgarian Shepherd, Bordeaux Mastiff, Brazilian Bulldog, Fila Brasileiro, Bully Kutta, Bullmastiff, Bull Terrier, Wolfdog (wolf-dog hybrid), East European Shepherd, Dutch Shepherd, Deerhound, Doberman Pinscher, Irish Wolfhound, Spanish Mastiff, Italian Cane Corso, Caucasian Shepherd Dog, Kangal, Moscow Watchdog, Neapolitan Mastiff, German Shepherd, Great Dane, Pakistani Bulldog (Gul Dong), Pit Bull Mastiff, Rottweiler, Romanian Bucovina Shepherd, Black Russian Terrier, North Caucasian Shepherd Dog, Saint Bernard, Central Asian Shepherd Dog, Tibetan Mastiff, Tornjak, Sharplaninac, Airedale Terrier, Estrela Mountain Dog, South Russian Ovcharka.
