The introduction of a requirement for leash-free dog ownership from March 1 is fake news.
11 March 00:04
Information about the alleged introduction of a requirement for “free” dog keeping in Ukraine from March 1, 2026, is not true. This was reported to Ukrinform by the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
“The information published in the media about the introduction of a rule on “untethered” dog keeping in Ukraine is not true,” the agency said in response to a request from Ukrinform.
As explained by the agency’s press service, On March 1, 2026, the Law of Ukraine “On Veterinary Medicine and Animal Welfare” came into force, which defines the legal and organizational basis for ensuring the protection of animal health, animal welfare, veterinary practice, production, circulation, and use of veterinary drugs, as well as the circulation of animal by-products.
“The law regulated the definition of the terms ‘pets’ and ‘non-commercial movement’ and updated the issues of issuing veterinary documents and maintaining the Unified State Register of Veterinary Documents, but the law does not provide for any significant changes for pet owners,” the State Service emphasized.
At the same time, according to Order No. 1366 of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine dated February 28, 2025, “On Approval of the Procedure for Issuing Veterinary Documents and Maintaining the Unified State Register of Veterinary Documents,” the register will come into effect on March 1, 2026, and it provides for the possibility of issuing and recording veterinary documents in electronic form.
“At the same time, no significant additional obligations are imposed on pet owners – the changes mainly concern the procedures for issuing, recording, and verifying veterinary documents by veterinarians and authorized bodies. Thus, the new regulation is aimed primarily at digitizing and unifying the system of veterinary documents, streamlining their registration, and bringing national procedures closer to European approaches in the field of veterinary medicine, rather than changing the rules for keeping pets by their owners,” the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection noted.
At the same time, they reminded that Ukraine has a law “On the Protection of Animals from Cruel Treatment.” In particular, it prohibits leaving a pet tied up if the length of the tether is less than 20 meters (except for dogs performing guard functions, for which the length must be at least 10 meters).Regardless of the length of the leash, it is also prohibited to leave an animal without the possibility of hiding in a room, building, etc., tied up in direct sunlight at an air temperature above 20°C or below 0°C.
Earlier, some media outlets published information about the alleged obligation to keep domestic dogs unleashed from March 1, 2026.
