According to Zooinform, The Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) released on the December, 15th, the draft new sanitary rules SanPiN 2.1.-20 “Sanitary and epidemiological requirements for living conditions, planning, development and maintenance of municipal unit territory”.

Paragraph 3.2.3 of this document states:

“It is not permitted to accommodate veterinary clinics, veterinary stations, veterinary offices and other organizations that provide veterinary services except veterinary pharmacies in the premises of apartment buildings”.

The revised rules should come into force on January 1, 2021.

According to the Russian Small Animal Veterinary Association (RSAVA), more than 50% of veterinary clinics in Russia are located in apartment buildings. New requirements will make them all close as of January 1, 2021.

The president of RSAVA Sergey Sereda stated that in most countries of the world veterinary clinics and offices are located in residential buildings.

Besides, in Moscow and other cities there are almost no detached buildings that could accommodate a veterinary clinic, and the shutdown of hundreds of organizations will lead to job loss for more than 100 thousand people, and millions of pet will stay without veterinary care at the top of the pandemic.

The national veterinary chamber, RSAVA, Zooinform supported by major pet industry companies are fighting this. They applied to all authorities responsible with official letters signed by hundreds of pet industry players with the proposal to revise the SanPiN draft.

UPD! Later, on the 18th of December, at a meeting of the regulatory guillotine working group, the ban on veterinary clinics in residential apartment buildings was not approved. The corresponding statement in the draft SanPiN was changed, and now in the corresponding paragraph we are talking about the ban on clinics "keeping livestock". Zooinform is convinced, such a formulation may imply too broad an interpretation, since it is not defined what is considered by "keeping". Moreover, the working group is not the ultimate authority, it gives recommendations only, but does not make a decision.

Further, the draft new sanitary rules should be considered by a government commission. It will make a final decision on veterinary clinics in apartment buildings.

Source: GlobalPETS