Silence of the pets

Dogs, cats and other pets are now officially banned from making noise at night time in a city in Ukraine. Whenever the new law is violated, tailed delinquents will be fined.

­In Kherson, a city in the south of Ukraine, a new law has come into effect. All domesticated animals have officially been prohibited from giving voice between 10pm and 8am. The ban is designed to allow people living in apartment blocks to have a good night’s rest.

But according to the Ukrainian news agency “Ukrainform”, there are still two exceptions to the rule. Stray dogs and pets that live in detached houses can ignore the new silence law. This discrimination has caused an outpouring of indignation among Kherson citizens.

“So some stray dogs can bark at night and my little pet dog can’t?” stated Viktor Gavrilyuk, a Ukrainian Rada deputy.

The mayor of the city, Vladimir Saldo, specified the law concerned “dogs, cats, goats, rodents, bovine cattle and other animals that live in apartment blocks”. Their masters are obliged to “prevent their pets from barking, meowing or grunting.” However it is not specified how the guardian should carry out the stipulation.

A system of monetary penalties has been developed, although the amount of the penalty is yet unknown.