Bag, leash and chip: Mykolaiv residents are being asked how to bring order to pet ownership
Cleanliness, safety and animals: Mykolaiv residents are asked to share what worries them most
In Mykolaiv, an anonymous survey is being conducted regarding the update of pet-keeping rules. Residents are asked to share their experiences and opinions about issues related to keeping dogs, cats and other pets in the city.
As the organizers note, the survey results are planned to be used to illustrate public opinion and to further search for optimal solutions to problems that arise in the urban environment. Completing the questionnaire should take up to 5 minutes.
Participants are first asked to indicate their age category, gender, any preferential citizen category, district of residence and type of housing. Among the districts you can choose Zavodskyi, Inhulskyi, Korabelnyi or Central.
A separate block of the questionnaire concerns the presence of pets. Residents are asked whether they have a dog, a cat, other animals, or several different pets. Dog owners are also asked to indicate how many dogs they have and to answer whether their animals are microchipped.
The organizers are also specifically interested in the situation with dog walking areas in different districts of Mykolaiv. Residents can assess whether there are enough such places, whether they need improvement, or whether there are no dedicated dog-walking areas at all.
The survey also invites opinions on where, in residents’ view, pet walking should be allowed provided owners are required to clean up after them. Options include parks, squares, green zones and beaches, specially equipped dog-walking areas, as well as residential yards, apartment building courtyards, sidewalks and lawns near private houses.
A separate block is devoted to safety during dog walking. Participants are asked to choose at least three measures they consider necessary. These include a mandatory leash in public places, a muzzle for large or potentially dangerous breeds, restrictions on walking animals by people under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and restrictions on children under 14 years walking animals.
Also among the proposed options are raising owner awareness, knowledge of rules of conduct in the city, proper socialization of dogs and the use of ID tags on collars with owner contact information.
Residents are also asked whether they have encountered aggression from pet dogs (not stray dogs) in Mykolaiv. Answers range from frequent incidents to isolated situations or a complete absence of such experience.
Another question concerns cleaning up after pets. Residents can assess the situation in their yard or district and indicate whether most owners clean up, only a few people do, or no one does.
To address the problem of lawns being fouled by excrement, the questionnaire offers possible measures. In particular, these include installing special bins and dispensers with bags, introducing real fines for failure to clean up, as well as informational signs and an educational campaign.
Residents are also asked whether they consider acceptable the burial of pet carcasses in public places — parks, squares, green zones, beaches and residential areas.
Another question concerns the possible mandatory registration and microchipping of all pet dogs and cats in Mykolaiv. Participants can fully support such an initiative, agree to its introduction only for dogs, or advocate for voluntary registration.
Given the consequences of the war and population migration, the organizers also ask whether residents have noticed an increase in the number of abandoned pedigree or formerly pet animals on the city streets.
Mykolaiv residents are asked to evaluate the possible benefits of registration and microchipping of animals. Proposed options include the ability to find lost animals more quickly and return them to their owners, identifying people who abandon animals, and contributing to reducing and regulating the number of stray animals.
The questionnaire separately raises the issue of enforcement of animal-keeping rules. Residents are asked to choose between the National Police of Ukraine, KP MMR “Center for Animal Protection”, community control by the residents themselves, or the simultaneous involvement of all these parties.
At the end of the survey, residents are given the opportunity to add suggestions or comments that were not covered by the questionnaire questions. You can also indicate a desire to participate in further discussion of pet-keeping rules in Mykolaiv.
You can join the anonymous survey via the link.
