The Kyiv City Council has registered a draft decision that will allow businesses to decide for themselves whether to allow visitors with animals into their premises. This is the first result of the UAnimals initiative and an important step towards abolishing outdated bans that have created a legal trap for both people with animals and businesses for years.
The Kyiv City Council has registered a draft decision that will allow businesses to decide for themselves whether to allow visitors with animals into their premises. This is the first result of the UAnimals initiative and an important step towards abolishing outdated bans that have created a legal trap for both people with animals and businesses for years.
How did we get here?
On January 15, UAnimals appealed to the authorities to change the outdated rules. Currently, most cities in Ukraine have a strict ban on bringing animals into stores, cafes, restaurants, gas stations, and other public places. This creates an absurd situation: people cannot enter with their animals, but leaving them tied up unattended is also prohibited by law. Homeless animals have no chance of escaping the cold. And entrepreneurs who go out of their way to allow animals inside risk being fined.
Therefore, UAnimals sent official appeals to the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Economy Oleksiy Sobolev, Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko, and the mayors of 15 cities in Ukraine. On the same day, we had a conversation with Oleksiy Sobolev, and he assured us that the Ministry was beginning work on changing the rules.
What is happening now?
The Kyiv City Council has registered a draft decision that will allow businesses to decide for themselves whether to allow animals inside. Establishments will be able to indicate their decision with a special sign at the entrance, and each business owner will choose their own format of operation.
We would like to thank Deputy Ksenia Semenova, her assistant Maria Kuliasha, and Deputy Viktoria Ptashnik for supporting the initiative.
We hope that the draft will soon be put to a vote in the chamber. This will be an important step towards creating a comfortable environment for people and animals.
What’s next?
Kyiv is just the beginning. We are waiting for a response from the mayors of other cities: Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Chornomorsk, Kherson, Poltava, Kropyvnytskyi, Mukachevo, Uzhhorod, Khmelnytskyi, Netishyn, Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Mykolaiv.
Share this news on social media and tag the mayors of your cities. Your voice matters!
Giving establishments the right to choose means reducing animal suffering, removing unnecessary pressure on entrepreneurs, and creating a safer, more humane urban environment.
