President Karol Nawrocki announced on Tuesday that he had decided to… vetoing the so-called chain law, which was to introduce a ban on keeping dogs on tethers. He announced that he would submit his own bill to the Sejm on this matter. On Tuesday evening, the head of his office announced on the X platform that the project had already been submitted. In the entry, Bogucki said that “pens the size of a small city apartment are absurd.”
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What were the president's reasons for vetoing the chain law?
What does the presidential project regarding dogs involve?
What requirements for pens were in the vetoed bill?
What does the current law regarding tethering animals mean?
Zbigniew Bogucki explains the reasons for the veto
“The vetoed act required the construction of kennels of up to 20 square meters for dogs that are not kept at home, and in the case of three large dogs it would have to be 30 square meters, or three kennels of 20 square meters each, so a total of 60 square meters. These pens were to be no less than 1.7 m high (even in the case of a small dog) and additionally meet a few more strictly defined requirements,” wrote Bogucki.
Explaining the reasons for the veto, he mentioned:e regulation “consequently involved weighing dogs to determine the appropriate kennel size.” He added that these requirements concerned “primarily the Polish countryside, because in cities, as a rule, dogs are allowed in apartments.”
“At the same time, it is worth noting that the fate of a large Great Dane kept in a tiny apartment or a husky let out on a two-meter balcony during the owners' absences of several hours each day did not offend the authors of the act, although the lives of these animals are much worse than those of many dogs in the countryside,” he said.
He noted that the act meant very heavy financial burdens, and many owners would not be able – in his opinion – to bear such costs, “and this posed real threats: the risk of dogs being abandoned by people who would not be able to meet such requirements; it would affect dog adoptions – people would stop adopting dogs from shelters, knowing that they would not meet the expensive and unrealistic standards; it gave rise to taking away a large dog, because its kennel would be e.g. 15 square meters, and not the required 20 square meters, and placing it in a shelter for just a few square meters,” he calculated.
“This is not a veto against animals. This is a veto against an evil law that is harmful to people and animals and is unlife.” – he wrote.
What was included in the presidential project
The head of the KPRP said that the presidential project assumes a ban on keeping dogs on tethers, so – as he pointed out – it actually removes chains from dogs. He added that the project introduces, in the case of dogs kept in a kennel, an unheated room or in an open space, the obligation to provide the animal with appropriate shelter from weather conditions, of a size adapted to the size of the dog.
The proposed regulation is also intended to introduce the obligation for the owner of a dog previously kept on a leash to take precautions against this animal preventing such an animal from escaping uncontrolledoutside the place of permanent existence.
“The project of President Karol Nawrocki is good law without populism, without fiction, without shifting responsibility onto people and making demands on them that few people can meet, and at the same time ensuring good treatment of animals. We invite everyone interested in real solutions that serve both people and animals to cooperate, without dividing villages and cities,” Bogucki wrote.
Currently applicable regulations prohibit keeping pets on a leash for longer than 12 hours a day or in a manner that causes them bodily injury or suffering and does not provide them with the opportunity for necessary exercise. The length of the tether cannot be shorter than three meters.
What did the vetoed so-called Chain Act
The vetoed provisions introduced definition of a playpen — a place where the dog is kept in a limited space outside the residential premises and from which the untethered dog cannot leave on its own, located in a fenced or unfenced area.
An owner keeping a dog in a kennel would have to provide it the playpen is hardened and covered for the most partwith an area of not less than 10 square meters for a dog weighing less than 20 kg, 15 square meters for a dog weighing between 20 and 30 kg and 20 square meters for a dog weighing over 30 kg. In addition, the pen would be enlarged with the number of dogs staying in it.
The regulations assumed that the playpen had to be high not less than 1.7 m and a durable and stable structurewith constant access to daylight, with a fence in which at least two sides contain gaps that let in light and allow natural air flow. In addition, a person keeping a dog in a kennel, in an unheated room or in an open space, was to be obliged to provide the animal with a kennel made of wood or wood-based materials constituting a thermal barrier, with thermal insulation, protecting against weather conditions and of a size adapted to the size of the dog.
The amendment also provided for exemptions from the ban on keeping dogs on tethers – only outside the dog's permanent residence. It would be possible, among others: keeping the dog on a leash or tying it up for a walk, transport or for a short period of time under specific conditions indicated by the owner – in a way that does not harm the animal's well-being (e.g. while shopping).
They were supposed to stay with the regulations regarding playpens dogs used for special purposes and dogs kept in animal shelters are excluded.
