A government decree requiring registration of domestic birds, camels and reindeer took effect Tuesday, sending Russians to government service centres with live chickens in tow before authorities clarified that owners did not need to bring their animals anywhere.
asserted
owners → require → animals
A Russian government decree requiring owners of chickens, camels, reindeer and the like to register their animals took effect on Tuesday, triggering a wave of public mockery and a minor administrative crisis as Russians began turning up at government service centres with live birds.
asserted
Russians → require → birds
Videos on social media showed people with chickens in tow waiting in queues, taking numbered tickets and lining up at counters.
asserted
people → show → counters
Some residents dressed their birds up before bringing them in.
asserted
residents → dress → them
Bloggers and social media users quickly compared it to the satirical fiction of Gogol, a writer who specialised in skewering the absurdities of Russian bureaucracy.
asserted
who → compare → bureaucracy
One widely shared video on Russian social media showed a chicken owner asking: "And if a chicken dies, should we call the police to investigate? What if it's aggravated murder?"
asserted
it → share → police
"I'm just imagining a fox or a weasel walking in...
asserted
fox → imagine → ?
The police will be overwhelmed, and then the police will be running around with sketches of the chickens," the video said.
asserted
video → overwhelm → chickens
Social media users also asked ironically whether chickens would need death certificates and what maternity payments would be due for each new chick, a reference to Russia's state funding for births.
asserted
payments → ask → births
The so-called multifunctional centres — local one-stop-shop offices offering services such as issuing passports or registering property — in Kabardino-Balkaria were the first to break: on Wednesday morning they announced they no longer handled animal registration and told chicken owners to contact the regional veterinary authority instead.
asserted
they → call → authority
Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance subsequently clarified that owners do not need to bring their animals anywhere.
asserted
owners → clarify → animals
Instead a veterinary officer will visit the premises, count the animals and assign them an identification number.
asserted
officer → visit → number
What in the bird is going on?
asserted
What → go → bird
Under the decree, farmers with more than 10 domestic birds — including chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, guinea fowl, quails and ostriches — must register them from 1 September this year.
asserted
farmers → include → September
Smaller holdings have until 1 September 2029.
asserted
holdings → have → September
All camels and reindeer must also be registered with immediate effect.
asserted
camels → register → effect
Once registered, animals are entered into the federal Horriot database, with details including species, breed, colour, sex, purpose and owner.
asserted
animals → register → species
Enclosures must be labelled.
asserted
Enclosures → label → ?
For domestic birds, the identification number is assigned to the flock as a whole rather than to each bird individually.
asserted
number → assign → bird
Failure to comply carries fines of up to 1,000 roubles (€10) for private individuals and up to 20,000 roubles (€200) for commercial organisations, which also risk a 60-day suspension of operations.
asserted
which → comply → operations
Russian authorities said the register was designed to help track and control outbreaks of infectious animal diseases and to verify the origin of agricultural produce entering the food supply chain.
asserted
register → say → chain
The decree's practical implications had not been clearly communicated before it took effect, which contributed to the confusion.
asserted
which → communicate → confusion
The Aporia
