Article 4. Protection of animals from cruel treatment The Law on Responsible Treatment of Animals
1. Cruelty to animals is prohibited.
2. When handling animals, it is prohibited:
1) beatings, torture of an animal, including hunger, thirst, and other violent acts by dismemberment, burning, drowning, suffocation, and slaughter of an animal, which have led or may lead to death, mutilation, or other harm to the animal's health;
2) carrying out veterinary and other procedures on animals in which the use of anesthesia or anesthesia is indicated, without the mandatory use of appropriate means, except in cases where the use of painkillers and anesthetics may cause damage to the animal's health;
3) inciting animals against humans and (or) other animals for hooligan motives or for purposes unrelated to the performance of official duties or hunting carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
4) refusal of animal owners or responsible persons from fulfilling their duties to keep animals and (or) their offspring until they are assigned to animal shelters, temporary animal detention facilities or alienation in another legal way;
5) failure to provide assistance to an animal in a condition dangerous to life and health by the owner of the animal and (or) the responsible person, if these persons had the opportunity to help the animal or themselves put it in a condition dangerous to life and health;
6) organization and conduct of animal fights;
7) organization and holding of entertainment events that result in injury or other harm to animal health or death of animals, with the exception of sports events in national sports using animals in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Physical Culture and Sports";
8) the use of equipment and other devices that cause injury or other harm to the health of an animal or the death of an animal;
9) breeding, keeping, using dogs and cats for their consumption, obtaining products and raw materials from these animals by slaughter or mutilation or other harm to health, as well as the sale of such products, with the exception of obtaining the hair of dogs and cats by combing;
10) euthanasia by a person who is not a veterinarian;
11) crossing of domestic and wild animals, except for their hybridization for scientific purposes.
3. If further use of the animal for its intended purpose is impossible, the owner of the animal or the responsible person is obliged to ensure the maintenance of such an animal until its natural death or to transfer it to an animal shelter, a temporary animal shelter, to individuals or legal entities capable of creating the necessary conditions. When transferring an animal to a temporary animal detention facility, the owner or the responsible person is obliged to ensure its maintenance until the legal fate of the animal is determined.
If the animal's state of health, due to age-related changes, the presence of chronic diseases, or a post-traumatic condition, implies a deterioration in the animal's quality of life associated with regular pain or impaired organ systems or severe functional disorders of the musculoskeletal system, the animal's owner has the right to decide on euthanasia, according to the conclusion of the veterinarian.
4. Do not constitute animal cruelty:
1) treatment of an animal in the event of an animal attack on a human and (or) an animal and other cases where the animal poses a threat to human life or health, animals, as well as public order and safety;
2) deratization;
3) the use of animals for feeding other animals kept in captivity and (or) semi-free conditions;
4) hunting, fishing or fisheries management, regulation of the number of wild animals, slaughter of farm animals, veterinary measures, euthanasia carried out in accordance with the requirements of this Law and other regulatory legal acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
5) slaughter of animals during religious ceremonies by followers of religious associations registered in the Republic of Kazakhstan, if this is provided for by their creed.
This Law regulates public relations in the field of responsible treatment of animals in order to protect them, ensure safety, strengthen morality and respect the principles of humanity of society in the treatment of animals, as well as protect the rights and legitimate interests of individuals and legal entities in the treatment of animals. -Excluded by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated May 19, 2026 No. 292-VIII SAM.
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