The Methodological Norms for the Application of the Government Emergency Ordinance No
NATIONAL SANITARY VETERINARY AND FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY
ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT
DECISION
on the approval of methodological norms for the application of Government emergency ordinance no. 155/2001 regarding the approval of stray dog management programme, approved with amendments by Law no. 227/2002, with subsequent amendments.
In conformity with the article 108 of the Constitution of Romania, republished with the art. III of the Law no. 258/2013 for the amendment and completion of the Government emergency ordinance no. 155/2001 regarding the approval of stray dog management programme,
The ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT adopts the present decision.
Art 1. To approve rules for the application of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 155/2001 approving the program management of stray dogs , approved with amendments and completions by Law no. 227/2002 , with subsequent amendments set out in the annex which is an integral part of this judgment .
Art 2. The following deeds and penalized as follows :
a) non-compliance with art . 5 par. (8 ) , art. 6 par. ( 5 ) , art. 13 , art. 39 par. ( 7) and (8 ) , art. 43 , art. 50 par. (1) , art. 52 par. ( 1) of the Rules , a fine of £ 2,000 to £ 5,000 ;
b ) non-compliance with art . Article 3 . (1) , art. 5 para. (7) , art. 6 para. ( 1) and (3), Article 9 , Article 11 , art. 17 and art . 27 para. ( 1) of the Rules , a fine of £ 5,000 to £ 10,000 ;
c ) non-compliance with art . 33 and art . 34 of the Rules , a fine of £ 10,000 to £ 20,000 .
Art 3. The contraventions and penalties shall be performed by authorized persons according to their duties, within the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Directorates of sanitary - veterinary and food safety county or Bucharest Municipality and the Ministry of Interior.
Art 4. - The offenses referred to in art . 2 are applicable provisions of the Government Ordinance no . 2/2001 on the legal regime of contraventions, approved with amendments by Law no. 180/2002 , as amended and supplemented.
PRIME-MINISTER
VICTOR - VIOREL PONTA
Annex
The methodological norms for the application of The Government Emergency Ordinance no. 155/2001 regarding the approval of the Programme on the Management of Stray dogs
CHAPTER I
General dispositions
Art. 1. – (1) The present methodological norms establish the necessary measures for the application of the provisions of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 155/2001 regarding the approval of the programme on the Management of Stray dogs, approved with further amendments and completions, hereinafter the Emergency Ordinance.
(2) The purpose of the present norms is to reduce the number of stray dogs, to improve the health and welfare of dogs from shelters, to stop the uncontrolled breeding of common dogs, to prevent the abandon and loss of dogs, to facilitate the recovery of lost dogs, to promote the responsible dog ownership, to reduce the occurrence of rabies and other zoonosis, to reduce the risks on people’s health, to prevent the aggressiveness on people and animals, as well as to reduce the animal illegal trade and traffic.
Art. 2. – For the purposes of these methodological norms, the following terms and expressions have the following meanings:
a) public shelter – shelter for stray dogs, which belongs to the administrative–territorial establishments and serves these establishments, being managed by the operators of the specialized services for the management of stray dogs;
b) private shelter– shelter for stray dogs, which belongs to a legal person, association or foundation, which develops activities in the field of animal protection,
c) adoption – the procedure of taking stray dogs under ownership from the public shelters by physical or legal persons;
d) adoption at distance – the procedure by which the physical or legal persons assume the responsability of maintaining stray dogs in public and private shelters on their own expenditure;
e) capture – the operation of capturing the dogs is carried out by the operators of the specialized services for the management of stray dogs.
f) aggressive dog – any dog as it is provided by the provisions of the Government emergency ordinance no. 55/2002 regarding the ownership of dangerous or aggressive dogs, approved with further amendments and completions by Law no. 60/2004;
g) dangerous dog – any stray dog that belongs to the breeds considered dangerous, in conformity with the provisions of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 55/2002,
h) assistance dog – any dog used by police units, gendarmerie, by other military units, by customs, by security services, protection and guard services or persons with disabilities, dogs used in case of disasters or by other non-governmental organizations for educational, therapeutically, searching, saving or utilitarian purposes.
i) common breed dog – any dog that doesn’t belong to an homologated breed;
j) medical exam- the procedure carried out by one free practice veterinarian organized under law conditions by which, the establishment of health status is determined,
k) the management of stray dogs – set of operations and procedures which have as purpose the control of stray dog population;
l) association or foundation for animal protection - non-governmental organization, established in conformity with the provisions of the Government Ordinance no. 26/2000 regarding the associations and foundations, approved with further amendments and completions by Law no. 246/2005, with further amendments and completions, which develop activities and actions on animal protection and whose status sets goals and activities for the protection and welfare of animals;
m) specialized service for the management of stray dogs – public service, funded at the level of administrative-territorial establishments by the local council, respectively by the General Council of Bucharest municipality, in order to manage stray dogs across the respective administrative territorial establishment;
n) operator of the services specialized in the management of stray dogs– legal person, public or private , that has the power and the ability to provide services in the field of animal protection and who has been delegated , assigned or leased , under the law , to carry out management of stray dogs;
o) the mean of identification – any device looking like microchip, eartag, tattoo, engraved medallion, which contains information necessary for the identification of the dog’s owner, respectively of the public service which took care of the dog;
p) identification – the operation by which the dog is given a mean of identification as well as the operation of reading the mean of identification and of establishing identity data on the dog’s owner or his original place;
q) registration - the operation by which, data mentioned on the mean of animal identification, as well as other data are introduced in the dog records;
r) microchip – approved electronic mean of identification which is introduced under the animal skin in the right scapula and contains a unique encrypted number of a bar code that can be read by an electronic device;
s) sterilization- operation by which the suppression of reproductive function of dogs is accomplished;
t) neighbors – owners of locative premises which have at least one common wall with the living space in which the dogs directly adopted from public shelters are to be accommodated,
u) animal waste rendering and neutralization plant – establishments described at the article 2, par. (1) letter h) of the Government Ordinance no. 47/2005 regarding the provisions on the neutralization of animal wastes, approved with further amendments by Law no. 73/2006, with further amendments and completions.
CHAPTER II
Public structures for the management of stray dogs
Art. 3. (1) The specialized services for the management of stray dogs funded in conformity with the art . 1, paragraph (1) of O.U.G. No . 155/2001 , with further amendments and completions, carry out the activity on stray dog management exclusively in the range of administrative- territorial units at the level of which they were funded.
(2) The services provided at the indent (1) necessarily bear the name of Stray Dog Management Service, followed by the name of the administrative-territorial establishment at the level of which they were funded.
(3) Services at par. (1) can be organized in public services subordinated to the local council.
Art. 4. - The veterinary personnel employed in the specialized services for the management of stray dogs in conformity with the provisions of the article 2 indent (2) of the Government emergency Ordinance no. 155/2001, with further amendments and completions, has the following competences:
a) the surveillance of captured and sheltered animals;
b) the collection of the documents drawn up by the staff involved in the capture, handling and transport of animals;
c) the registration of stray dog in the Register of stray dogs, based on the individual capture form, which model is provided in the annex no. 1 to the present methodological norms.
CHAPTER III
The public shelters and shelters for stray dogs belonging to the animal protection associations
Art. 5. - (1) The stray dog public shelters equipped in conformity with the provisions of the article 2 indent (1) of the Government emergency ordinance no. 155/2001, with further amendments and completions, belong to the administrative- units which equip them and they shall be administered by the public utility services of the management of the stray dogs or the service concession operator and shall comply with the provisions of the sanitary veterinary legislation.
(2) It is forbidden to accommodate stray dogs in public shelters which are not in conformity with the minimum functioning conditions provided at the annex no.1 to the Government emergency ordinance no. 155/2001, with further amendments and completions.
(3) The operators of the specialized services for the management of stray dogs are obliged to provide personnel who should be permanently responsible for stray dog public shelters in order to supervise dogs 24 hours a day, to supplementary adapt dogs, to feed puppies twice and three times a day in conformity with the provisions of the annex no. 1 to the Government emergency ordinance no. 155/2001, with further amendments and completions.
(4) Stray dog public shelters shall be located within the range of administrative-territorial establishments which equip them, or by exception:
a) on the range of administrative units in their vicinity,
b) in the case of public shelters laid out by the General Council of Bucharest, at a distance of 35 km outside Bucharest.
(5) In the public shelters, there can be accommodated only stray dogs captured within the range of administrative territorial establishments which equipped them, as well stray dogs of neighboring territorial administrative units, under the conditions set in par. (4); and the operators of the specialized services for the management of stray dogs have the obligation to transport and shelter captured dogs only in shelters which they administer.
(6) The accommodation of stray dogs in neighboring administrative units, under par. (4) is based on the cooperation agreements concluded under art. 3 par. (1) and the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety will be notified.
(7) The sick or injured animals must be isolated in adequate cages, in which, they should be adequately cared for, during the entire accommodation period, all the shelters shall have a sufficient number of isolation cages intended for sick or injured dogs. There shall not be accommodated more sick dogs in the same cage.
Art. 6. - (1) Public access in the public shelters is done based on a schedule set by service management of stray dogs daily, Monday through Friday, between the hours 10.00 to 18.00.
The specialized services for the management of stray dogs, respectively, the operators of the specialized services for the management of stray dogs have the obligation to allow the public access in the public shelters, daily, from Monday to Friday between 10,00 - 18,00,
(2) On Saturdays and Sundays and during the legal holidays, for adoption, the public access can be made during the interval 10.00 to 12.00.
(3) Claiming stray dogs can be carried out during the entire period of public access in public shelters, provided at indent (1) and (2).
(4) The visitors’ access in public shelters for stray dogs is carried out complying with the RegulationonInternal Organization.
(5) The visitors have the right to photograph and film the dogs from public shelters.
Art. 7. – (1) The private shelters for stray dogs belonging to animal protection organizations and foundations must provide stray animals the minimum conditions mentioned in the annex no. 1. letter A – D to the Government emergency ordinance no. 155/2001, with further amendments and completions.
(2) The shelters provided at the indent (1) must have a visitation programme of at least 4 hours every day.
CHAPTER IV
The concession of the specialized services for the management of stray dogs
Art. 8. - The concession of the specialized services for the management of stray dogs is carried out by the local councils, respectively by the General Council of Bucharest municipality, complying with the provisions of the Government emergency ordinance no. 34/2006 on the attribution of the public acquisition contracts, public work concession contracts and service concession contracts, approved with further amendments and completions by Law no. 337/2006, with further amendments and completions.
Art. 9. – The local councils and the General Council of Bucharest municipality or the operators of the specialized services for the management of stray dogs have the obligation, within maximum 60 days from entering into force of present methodological norms, to contract veterinary services for the specific activities provided in the present norms, according to the legal provisions.
CHAPTER V
The capture, transport and housing of stray dogs
Art. 10. (1) The specialized services for the management of stray dogs and operators of the specialized services for the management of stray dogs are required to capture the dogs in the following order:
a) dogs running freely , unaccompanied, surrounding schools, kindergartens, children's playgrounds, parks, public markets;
b) dogs running free, unaccompanied in other public places than those stipulated under letter. a);
c) dogs running freely, unaccompanied in peripheral areas of towns