The document is available for discussion on the portal for draft regulatory legal acts. The new veterinary rules will apply to keeping horses on private backyard farms, on large and small commercial farms of different types, and in equine organizations. The document sets the rules for breeding, raising, selling, and using horses.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, more than 5 million farms in Russia are engaged in horse breeding. “Horses can be a source of diseases that are dangerous both for horses and other animals and for humans as well, such as anthrax, brucellosis, rabies, and so on,” said the ministry, explaining the relevance of the document.
They also said that complaints were in place regarding the lack of legal regulation of horsekeeping in the country.
The new veterinary rules set regulations for the correct keeping of horses, quarantine and disease prevention measures, and diagnostic studies.
“When keeping horses on farms together with cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs, the animal housing facilities should be divided into isolated compartments for each kind of species. Keeping horses in the same building with birds is not allowed,” says the document.
The rules include requirements for housing, watering, and feeding horses. Zoning and grazing regulations are also stated.
According to plan, the new veterinary rules will come into force on March 1, 2024, and will be valid until March 1, 2030.
