On Tuesday, October 6, the Housing and Environment Committee of Riga City Council supported new binding regulations for keeping pet animals, which provide for waiving the municipal fee for keeping a dog in Riga, as well as providing that dogs will be carried on a leash in public places, but can only be placed on specialized dog walking grounds without a leash. The final decision will still have to be made at the council meeting.
The new binding regulations have been drawn up in order to adapt the Riga regulation to the changes made in recent years to the Animal Protection Law, the Veterinary Medicine Law and Cabinet Regulations. The current regulations of the Riga City Council on the municipal fee for keeping a dog and supervising the registration of dogs have been adopted in 2016 and are outdated.
A significant change will be the waiving of the municipal fee for keeping a dog in Riga.
At the same time, it is planned to specify more precisely the requirements for the arrangement of dogs in the city's public outdoor space. The new rules do not provide for public areas or times of day during which a dog would be allowed to be placed unaccompanied. Thus, in Riga, outside the owner's territory, an unleashed dog will be allowed to be placed only in specialized dog walking areas, while in other public places, the dog will have to be taken to a leash.
“On the one hand, we are waiving the dog-holding fee and reducing unnecessary administrative burdens for dog owners, but on the other hand, we are clearly establishing responsibilities in the public sphere. Riga's parks, squares and other public spaces are used by a wide variety of people, so it is important to ensure the safety of both people and other animals. Dogs will be able to run freely in specially designed dog walking areas," emphasizes Elīna Treija, Chairwoman of the Housing and Environment Committee of the Riga City Council.
The requirement to carry a dog on a leash in public spaces is intended to improve the safety of humans and animals and to ensure the continuous control of the dog. The public outdoor space is used simultaneously by children, seniors, people with disabilities, cyclists and other residents, while the use of a leash reduces the risk of an animal endangering humans, causing an accident or conflict with other animals.
The draft regulation foresees that a dog will be able to be on a leash in public areas of the municipality, but there will be a number of exceptions. The dog will not be allowed in children's playgrounds, sports grounds of educational institutions and official bathing areas of the city during the bathing season, as well as in the venues of public events, if the organiser of the event has imposed such a prohibition, and in other places where the prohibition is laid down in regulatory enactments.
These restrictions will not apply to guide dogs, assistant dogs and therapy dogs.
The new rules will also regulate the trapping of stray or helpless pets, as well as the monitoring of marking and registration requirements for dogs, cats and ferrets. The enforcement of the regulations will be controlled by the Riga Municipal Police.
The Riga City Council will have to decide on the adoption of the new binding regulations.
Information prepared by: Mārtiņš Vilemsons, Project Coordinator, External Communication Division of Riga City Council, e-mail: martins.vilemsons@riga.lv.