Legalization of Aviary Hunting as Another Controversial Result of Domestic Law-Making

Abstract

The article presents results of a comprehensive study of the Federal law “On amendmentsto the Federal law “On hunting and conservation of hunting resources and on amendmentsto several legislative acts of the Russian Federation” and the Federal law “On the animalworld”, including the history of its design. This Law allows hunting wild animals kept insemi-free conditions and in artificially created habitat (“aviary hunting”). The researchwas carried out using formal legal and system methods, as well as methods of modelingand comparative law. Its purpose is to find out what is correlation of legislative innovationswith “hunting” and environmental legislation and what are possible consequences of theirapplication. The relevance of the research is highlighted by the negative public responseaccompanied process of designing and approving the law on “aviary hunting”, which is inclear contradiction with the legislative trend of humanizing the treatment of animals. It isproved the purpose of the Law is to legalize illegally conducted “aviary hunting” in orderto ensure the continuation of this activity already legally and to remove it from the bans,restrictions and requirements established in the Federal Law on hunting and huntingrules. The Law on “aviary hunting” does not conform to legal concept of hunting and mainprovisions of the natural resources and environmental legislation of Russia, provide in fact, the illegal “privatization” of wildlife, which is state property now, as well as areasof hunting grounds by permitting to build real estate in the form of capital structures.It is argued that the foreign experience of “aviary hunting” referred to by the initiatorsand authors of the Law is not applicable in the Russian legal system based on anotherprinciples. As a consequence, legislative innovations does not match the concept ofstate ownership of wildlife, violate the following basic legal requirements: separation ofthe right to use the animal world from the right to use land and other natural resources,implementation of wildlife use methods that do not allow cruel treatment of animals,in accordance with the principles of humanity. Retrospect shows that in Russia “aviaryhunting” was not widespread even in the conditions of landlord ownership. A forecastof negative consequences of the adoption of the Law on aviary hunting is given, and aproposal is made to cancel or invalidate its provisions.
For citation: Gorokhov D.B., Ivanova S.V. (2020) Legalization of Aviary Hunting as Another Controversial Result of Domestic Law-Making. Pravo. Zhurnal Vysshey shkoly ekonomiki, no 2, pp. 183–210 (in Russian) DOI: 10.17323/2072-8166.2020.2.183.210