Why is it relevant right now? The number of pets increased significantly during the first year of the pandemic and anecdotal evidence shows many do not clean up after their pets in public places.
We started by discussing a column written by an active Lviv citizen, Olha Syvak, the topic of which was «Why every year at the end of the winter, we have shit beneath our feet.»
Also, a number of comments appeared under the announcement of discussion on Facebook. Some people resented that neither dog owners clean the excrement, nor do janitors. Others are convinced it’s important to keep tough control in this case, but no one does it.
Therefore, Tvoemisto.tv decided to hold a discussion. As the moderator Taras Yatsenko claimed, its aim is not merely to talk, but to find a common solution and make European Lviv truly better.
What the situation is like now and why it works abroad
According to Olha Kyrylovych, a coordinator of the «Dog-friendly city» initiative, the transitional period needed in orde4 to develop a social habit in Ukraine, in particular, cleaning after your dogs, had passed long ago. During the six years of the initiative, diverse events took place. Partially, there is some effect, though it’s insufficient.
She emphasises that cleaning after your dog is a sign of elementary politeness. Also, according to Olha Kyrylovych, generalisations like «there are no arranged places for walking with dogs, so we won’t clean» or «it’s others who litter, not us» are wrong. It mustn’t be this way in society.
«This is the way to nowhere. People should understand that it’s wrong and impolite», – she says.
The issue has three components. First is the general awareness of why it’s dangerous and what consequences it has. For instance, in the United States, there’s an institute of drinking water, where a separate department researches the impact of dogs’ excrements. Every year, they publish recommendations of how to fight it. The second component is the level of general culture. The third thing, as global experience demonstrates, is that everything is solved and cured with the help of fines. It means, even the smallest fine would be effective if the punishment is inevitable.
The representative of the Community of Lviv dog-owners Romana Samokish added that «herd immunity» must help as well. In other words, there must be a critical mass of conscious people who practise it. The issue to clean or not to clean is the question of conscience and upbringing. For instance, her own children didn’t doubt cleaning after their dog.
Several factors indicating why this works abroad but not here were named by the mayor’s adviser Iryna Orshak. Among them – huge fines. It’s about 500 euro in Germany and 250 euro in Italy. Hence, citizens there are motivated economically.
Furthermore, people abroad work on it on the level of the state. Police keep control and impose fines. In contrast, there are just a couple of decisions obliging the owners to clean after their pets.
In particular, «About the statement of Rules of pets’ keeping and treatment in Lviv» and «about the Rules of landscaping in Lviv», which includes the statement that pet owners can be brought to administrative responsibility. In addition, the Code of administrative violations provides a fine from 20 to 80 tax-free minimums (340-1 360 UAH, 12-50$). The main current issue is that now, there’s no responsible state structure to implement this, even though the Code itself indicates that police must be engaged.
The scale of the issue and what to do about it
According to approximate data from sociological agencies, presented by Olha Kyrylovych, there are about 40 thousand domestic dogs living in Lviv. Thi, according to her, may help us realise the scale of the catastrophe. Now, when housing cooperatives want to arrange the cleaning stations and provide their residents with biodegrading bags, they realise how serious is that issue.
«Somewhere, housing cooperatives will join – and the stations will be arranged. The city will arrange walking routes, also equipped with them. However, given that we don’t have the pet tax, unlike it’s in the world, the city won’t always be able to always provide us with billions of these bags», – she says.
Therefore, according to Iryna Orshak, it’s necessary to establish a new structure. Currently, the Lviv City Council works on the proposals of the new organ, which would include ecological patrol.
The head of the Council’s commission of ecology, use of nature, and energy saving Volodymyr Luchyshyn supported this idea. Still, according to him, this question remains open, as the year was financially difficult, and it’s not certain that the deputies would support the initiative. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t deal with the problem.
«The question is complicated. Its solving would be a long history», – he claimed, adding that this year, probably, they would manage just to prepare the processes.
Acting director of Lviv municipal enterprise «Lev» Andrii Pinchuk says that the Council’s decision includes a statement, according to which the dogs in Lviv must be registered and chipped. This would discipline the owners.
According to him, the process of chipping moves on, though not fast enough. Hence, the question remains of who will check it.
«We have to begin with Verkhovna Rada. whether it would be a specific organ within the police, it’s hard to say now», – he claims.
Andrii Pinchuk added that without such a structure, it will be too difficult to implement this.
A dog license and a dog tax
According to the coordinator of the initiative «Dog-friendly city», the thing we call pet tax corresponds to a dog license in Great Britain, and the owner of the latter also receives a veterinary passport and digital token. The money paid for it is directed on arranging the territory for dogs’ walking and cleaning stations.
Iryna Orshak added that in Germany, this tax equals 156 euros per year.
Returning to the topic of ecological supervision, the solution of this question on the all-Ukrainian level may take years, according to the woman. Therefore, if the local implementation of the ecological patrol idea isn’t successful, it would be possible to add loads to the municipal guards.
Volodymyr Luchyshyn supported her. In his opinion, this case can be financially self-sustaining, as the fines will be directed on the structure’s maintenance. At the same time, he called to be careful with the attitude to the dog tax.
«If a miracle happened and we succeeded in it, the number of homeless dogs would rise from 200 to two thousand», – he says.
The animal rights activist and entrepreneur Taras Terletskyi has the same position. He’s convinced that obligatory registration and taxation must take place in Ukraine. However, it’s necessary to prepare for the corresponding reaction of the public.
«For volunteers, it may end with the fact that dogs will be brought to us. It’s because 90% of people think that dog is a doll when purchasing it», – he says.
According to him, in the USA and EU, penalties and owners’ liability towards their dogs are approved on the legislation level. For instance, in the USA, a fine for the absence of registration is from 100 to 3 thousand dollars.
The problem is not what a dog does, but that the police isn’t aware of how to work with it. Therefore, he stands for the obligatory training for police, where all these moments would be clarified.
In addition, the animal rights activist guesses that the Lviv City Council could become a subject of the legislative initiative which would suggest relevant proposals to the Verkhovna Rada and lobby them among the deputies.
The constructiveness of communication and the enlightening
The author of the post about dogs which disturbed the Lviv dog-owners, the head of NGO «The vector of the law» Roman Verkholiak says that in his post, he actually turned public attention to the fact that Lviv residents don’t clean after their pets. Therefore, he supports the prohibition of walking dogs on children playgrounds, school stadiums, as excrements bring a real threat.
Roman Verkholiak stands for chipping dogs in order to identify the owners, and for installing the signs in the places where it’s not allowed to walk the dogs. According to him, if there’s no place for walking the dogs, their owners should create it themselves.
Instead, Volodymyr Luchyshyn emphasised the unconstructiveness of communication. In his opinion, it’s important not to quarrel but to talk about how to deal with it. And also, to begin not with fines (though it’s also needed), but with clarifications at schools.
«We have to follow a long path – through the Verkhovna Rada. But also a short one – here, locally», – he says and emphasises that a dog isn’t guilty anyway. The liability lies on the owner, and it’s important to influence him.
The initiative «Dog-friendly city» coordinator Olha Kyrylovych talks about numerous obstacles, inflexibility and absence of the powers locally too. According to her, it’s necessary to work with the societal consciousness.
«Currently, we have a significant tension in the relationship between citizens. Gaps in knowledge when people don’t realise why these questions are important. Every dog owner looks for an alibi for himself, pointing to the absence of places for dog walking. There will be places, the program is approved. Sooner or later, 47 playgrounds and 51 walking routes will be constructed – what would they say then?», – she claims.
As an example, the woman reports that now, there’s a possibility to chip five thousand dogs for free, but almost no one wants to do it.
«It’s important to work with people’s consciousness to teach them how to live in a civilised way. No matter how sad it sounds, – she says.
The communication director of the «Kormotech» pet supply company Kateryna Kovaliuk points out that she personally, as well as her team, is fond of the topic of pet taxes, as this is about responsibility. Another issue is a gap in the niche of enlightening. The company took over this mission, and since 2016, coordinates the project of humane education at schools.
As of today, 30 000 seventh-graders from the Lviv region have already been trained this way. In the course, there is a second lesson called «The Need and Welfare of Quadrupeds.» It contains a calculator with which you can calculate what to buy for your pet. Among them is a «scoop for excrement». And children begin to realise that if they want to have a dog, they have to clean up after him.
Media hub Tvoemisto.tv
Translated by Vitalii Holich
Full or partial publication of the text without the written consent of the editors is prohibited and is considered copyright infringement
