On July 6, Irkutsk Oblast Governor Igor Kobzev, a member of the United Russia party, submitted amendments to the regional Legislative Assembly regarding the recently passed law on the killing of stray animals. Under Kobzev's proposal, the law's effective date would be pushed back from October 1, 2026, to January 1, 2027.
The main amendment seeks to lift the ban on releasing animals from temporary holding facilities during an extraordinary situation. Instead, a special commission would decide whether an animal should be euthanized, with priority given to rehoming or transferring them to shelters.
The Legislative Assembly of Irkutsk Oblast adopted the law on June 17. It allows authorities to declare an extraordinary situation in the event of dog attacks on people and euthanize all captured stray animals after 11 days.
On July 4, more than 100 Irkutsk residents held a rally and collected signatures against the new law, calling for public education to prevent people from abandoning pets in the first place. Animal rights activists also staged solo pickets. One activist, Tatyana Tayurskaya, was fined 12,000 rubles after authorities ruled that her dog-shaped balloons constituted "visual campaign materials."
