Article 1. To introduce amendments and additions to the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On protection and use of the animal world” of December 26, 1997 No. 545-I (Bulletin of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 1998, No. 1, Article 14; 2000, No. 5-6, Article 153; Bulletin of the Chambers of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 2009, No. 12, Article 472; 2011, No. 1, Article 1; 2014, No. 9, Article 244), approving its new edition (attached).

Article 2. The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall:

bring its decisions in line with this Law;

ensure that state administration bodies review and repeal their normative legal acts that contradict this Law.

Article 3. This Law shall enter into force on the date of its official publication.

The purpose of this Law is to regulate relations in the field of protection and use of the animal world.

The legislation on protection and use of the animal world consists of this Law and other legislative acts.

The peculiarities of hunting and management of hunting farms shall be regulated by the legislation on hunting and hunting farms.

If an international treaty of the Republic of Uzbekistan establishes rules other than those provided for by the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan on protection and use of the animal world, the rules of the international treaty shall apply.

The following basic concepts are used in this Law:

wild animals — invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals inhabiting land, water, air and soil, which are not domesticated;

products of life activity of wild animals — honey, fat, meat, milk, eggs, wax, roe, poison, bile, fur, horns, feathers, skins and other products obtained as a result of the life activity of wild animals;

zoological collection — a systematized set of inanimate specimens of wild animals having scientific, cultural-educational, training and aesthetic value (stuffed animals and samples of products of their life activity), as well as live collections of wild animals kept in semi-free conditions, artificially created habitats or in captivity (in nurseries, zoos, circuses, terrariums, aquariums and other places);

animal world — the aggregate of all species of wild animals permanently or temporarily inhabiting the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan;

protection of the animal world — activities aimed at ensuring stable living conditions for wild animals, preserving their natural habitats and populations, preventing their extermination or other harmful impacts;

biotechnical measures for protection and rational use of the animal world — a set of scientifically based measures aimed at conservation, restoration and reproduction of wild animals, preservation of their habitats, breeding places and migration routes, as well as increasing productivity of hunting and fishing grounds.

The animal world is national wealth, must be used rationally and is protected by the state.

Wild animals living in a natural state, as well as those released into their natural habitats, shall be state property.

Wild animals kept and (or) bred in semi-free conditions, artificially created habitats or in captivity may be the property of legal entities or individuals.

The objects of the animal world include:

wild animals;

products of life activity of wild animals;

zoological collections.

Legal entities and individuals may be users of the animal world objects.

Users of the animal world objects shall exercise their rights to use such objects under the conditions and in the manner established by legislation.

The main directions of the state policy in the field of protection and use of the animal world shall include:

development and implementation of state programs and other measures in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

establishment by the state of norms in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

exercise of state control in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

development of scientific research activities in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

development of international cooperation in the field of protection and use of the animal world.

State administration in the field of protection and use of the animal world shall be carried out by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and local executive authorities within the scope of their powers.

The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall:

ensure the implementation of a unified state policy in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

approve and implement state programs in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

coordinate, within the scope of its powers, the activities of republican executive authorities and economic management bodies in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

adopt decisions on the establishment of protected natural areas of national significance.

The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan may exercise other powers in accordance with legislation.

The Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall:

participate in the development and implementation of state programs and other programs in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

participate in the development of normative legal acts in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

organize and approve the development of rules, norms and standards in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

exercise state control in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

maintain state accounting of zoological collections, nurseries where wild animals are kept and bred;

maintain the state cadastre of animal world objects;

maintain the Red Book of the Republic of Uzbekistan and ensure its publication;

conduct state environmental expertise in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

issue permits to legal entities and individuals for special use of animal world objects;

implement biotechnical measures for protection and rational use of the animal world in assigned protected natural areas.

The Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan may exercise other powers in accordance with legislation.

The Forestry Agency under the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall:

participate in the development and implementation of state programs and other programs in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

participate in the development of normative legal acts, rules, norms and standards in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

exercise departmental control in the field of protection and use of the animal world on the lands of the state forest fund;

maintain state accounting of animal world objects and records of their use on the lands of the state forest fund in the prescribed manner;

participate in maintaining the Red Book of the Republic of Uzbekistan;

implement biotechnical measures for protection and rational use of the animal world on the lands of the state forest fund.

The Forestry Agency under the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan may exercise other powers in accordance with legislation.

Local government authorities shall:

participate in the development and implementation of state programs and other programs in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

develop, approve and implement regional programs in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

exercise state control in the field of protection and use of the animal world in the respective territory;

review, in the prescribed manner, issues of establishing protected natural areas of local significance.

Local government authorities may exercise other powers in accordance with legislation.

The Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall:

participate in the development and implementation of state programs and other programs in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

maintain, in the prescribed manner, state accounting of animal world objects and records of their use;

provide scientific support for maintaining the state cadastre of animal world objects and the Red Book of the Republic of Uzbekistan;

provide conclusions in the field of protection and use of the animal world in cases stipulated by this Law;

determine scientific directions, develop and implement research programs in the field of protection and use of the animal world.

The Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan may also participate in other measures to ensure protection and rational use of the animal world in accordance with legislation.

Citizensʼ self-government bodies, non-governmental non-profit organizations and citizens shall:

participate in the implementation of state, regional and other programs in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

exercise public control in the field of protection and use of the animal world.

Citizensʼ self-government bodies, non-governmental non-profit organizations and citizens may also participate in other measures to ensure protection and rational use of the animal world in accordance with legislation.

Protection of the animal world shall be carried out through:

establishing rules, norms and standards in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

introducing restrictions and prohibitions on the use of animal world objects;

suspending, terminating or revoking the right of special use of animal world objects;

preventing unauthorized use of animal world objects and other violations of the established procedure for their use;

organizing protection of habitats, breeding sites and migration routes of wild animals;

including rare and endangered species of wild animals in the Red Book of the Republic of Uzbekistan;

preventing the death of wild animals in the course of economic and other activities and during the use of vehicles;

establishing and developing protected natural areas;

breeding rare and endangered species of wild animals in captivity;

assisting wild animals when they fall ill or face the risk of death as a result of natural disasters and other causes;

maintaining state accounting of animal world objects and records of the volumes of their use;

maintaining the state cadastre of animal world objects and implementing monitoring of the animal world;

exercising control in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

regulating the import into and export from the Republic of Uzbekistan of animal world objects;

organizing and conducting scientific research in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

conducting state environmental expertise in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

implementing biotechnical and other measures for protection and rational use of the animal world.

For the purpose of ensuring protection and rational use of the animal world, state accounting of animal world objects and records of the volumes of their use shall be carried out.

Legal entities and individuals that manage protected natural areas and hunting and/or fishing farms shall annually carry out accounting of the number of wild animals and of the volumes of their use and shall submit the resulting data to the state statistics bodies.

Ministries, agencies and organizations that maintain state accounting of animal world objects and records of the volumes of their use shall provide, free of charge, to the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan the information necessary for the state cadastre of animal world objects. The types, volumes and deadlines for submitting the information necessary for the state cadastre of animal world objects shall be determined by the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

For the purpose of ensuring protection and rational use of the animal world, the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, together with the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, shall maintain the state cadastre of animal world objects.

State accounting of animal world objects and records of the volumes of their use, as well as maintenance of the state cadastre of animal world objects, shall be financed from the State budget of the Republic of Uzbekistan and other sources not prohibited by legislation.

The procedure for state accounting of animal world objects and records of the volumes of their use, and for maintaining the state cadastre of animal world objects, shall be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Rare and endangered species of wild animals shall be included in the Red Book of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Actions (inaction) that may lead to the extermination of rare and endangered species of wild animals, a reduction in their numbers, or the degradation of their habitats shall not be allowed.

Where rare and endangered species of wild animals cannot be restored and reproduced under natural conditions, the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall take measures to create the necessary conditions for the reproduction of such species.

Removal of rare and endangered species of wild animals from their natural habitats shall be permitted, on the basis of a permit issued by the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan taking into account the opinion of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan and pursuant to a decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, for the following purposes:

breeding under specially created conditions with subsequent release into natural habitats;

carrying out scientific and control (monitoring) activities;

in other cases of particular necessity in accordance with legislation.

Issuance of permits for removal from natural habitats of certain rare and endangered species included in the Red Book of the Republic of Uzbekistan may be restricted. The grounds for such restrictions, the list of species and the period of validity of restrictions shall be determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the basis of proposals submitted by the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan taking into account the opinion of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Import into the Republic of Uzbekistan and export from the Republic of Uzbekistan of wild animals, as well as their parts, products of their life activity, zoological collections, trophies and stuffed specimens shall be carried out on the basis of permits issued by the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in the manner established by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Wild animals, as well as their parts, products of their life activity, zoological collections, trophies and stuffed specimens detained during attempts at illegal import into or illegal export from the Republic of Uzbekistan shall be seized in the manner established by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Monitoring of the animal world is a component part of the State monitoring of the natural environment and consists of specially organized regular observations of the condition of the animal world and its habitats, identification of changes therein, and their assessment and forecasting.

Monitoring of the animal world shall be carried out in the manner established by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Control in the field of protection and use of the animal world shall be exercised in the forms of state, departmental, production and public control.

State control in the field of protection and use of the animal world shall be exercised by the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan and by local government authorities.

Departmental control in the field of protection and use of the animal world shall be exercised on the lands of the state forest fund by the Forestry Agency under the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and in organizations subordinate to republican executive authorities and to economic management bodies — by such authorities and bodies.

Production control in the field of protection and use of the animal world shall be exercised by business entities within the territories assigned to them.

Public control in the field of protection and use of the animal world may be exercised by citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan, citizensʼ self-government bodies, non-governmental non-profit organizations and mass media.

The procedure for exercising control in the field of protection and use of the animal world shall be established by legislation.

Benefits may be granted, in accordance with legislation, to legal entities and individuals that ensure protection and rational use of the animal world, as well as protection and improvement of the condition of habitats, breeding sites and migration routes of wild animals.

The basic requirements for protection and use of the animal world shall include:

preserving biodiversity of wild animals and the integrity of their natural populations and breeds in a natural state;

preserving habitats, breeding sites and migration routes of wild animals;

rational use, restoration and reproduction of wild animals;

regulating the number of wild animals.

Biotechnical measures for protection and rational use of the animal world, developed and approved by users of animal world objects, shall be coordinated with the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, and with the regional and Tashkent city departments of the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Activities affecting the condition of the animal world, habitats, breeding sites and migration routes of wild animals shall be carried out in compliance with the requirements for protection and use of the animal world.

Legal entities and individuals, in the course of any economic and other activities, shall take measures to prevent diseases and death of wild animals and to preserve their habitats, breeding sites and migration routes.

The State Veterinary Service shall take measures to prevent and eradicate infectious diseases of wild animals and shall perform other functions in accordance with legislation.

It shall be prohibited, without regard to the requirements for protection and use of the animal world, to burn plants, to store and use materials, raw materials, chemicals, plant protection products, mineral fertilizers and other substances hazardous to wild animals, as well as to dispose, transport or bury household and industrial waste.

When locating, designing and constructing settlements, enterprises, transport highways, power transmission and communication lines, hydraulic structures and other facilities, when improving existing technological processes and introducing new ones, when bringing swampy and bushy areas into economic use, when setting water regimes and limits of water use, land reclamation, forest use, geological exploration, extraction of minerals, grazing of agricultural animals and defining their driveways, developing tourist routes and establishing mass recreation areas, measures must be envisaged and implemented to preserve habitats, breeding sites and migration routes of wild animals, as well as to ensure the inviolability of areas of special value as habitats of wild animals.

The following shall be subject to state environmental expertise:

materials on selection of land plots for all types of construction, pre-planning, pre-design and design documentation, implementation of which may have adverse effects on the condition of the animal world or on habitats, breeding sites and migration routes of wild animals;

projects on establishment of hunting and/or fishing grounds;

projects on relocation, acclimatization and hybridization of wild animals;

plant protection products hazardous to wild animals and their habitats.

State environmental expertise in the field of protection and use of the animal world shall be conducted in the manner established by the legislation on environmental expertise.

Use of animal world objects shall be carried out in the manner of general use and special use.

General use of animal world objects shall be carried out by individuals free of charge, without removing wild animals from their natural habitats (except for fishing for sport and amateur purposes) and without causing harm to them.

Special use of animal world objects shall be carried out for a fee, on the basis of permits.

Permits for special use of animal world objects shall be issued by the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan within the approved quotas for catching wild animals. Quotas for catching wild animals shall be approved by the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the basis of state accounting of animal world objects and records of the volumes of their use, taking into account the opinion of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan. No permit shall be required for catching wild animals bred in nurseries or fish farms, or on their territories.

Use of animal world objects shall be carried out in the manner established by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Users of animal world objects shall have the right to:

use animal world objects in accordance with the legislation on protection and use of the animal world;

ownership of caught wild animals and products of their life activity.

Users of animal world objects engaged in management of hunting and/or fishing farms shall have the right to:

issue permits (vouchers, animal catching sheets) to individuals for use of animal world objects within the limits of permits issued by the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan;

conclude contracts with legal entities and individuals for use of animal world objects for industrial purposes within established quotas;

process hunting and fishing products and manufacture items therefrom;

use, sell and otherwise dispose of hunting and fishing products and items manufactured therefrom;

use animal species that have been artificially bred and released into natural habitats.

Users of animal world objects shall:

comply with rules, norms and standards established in the field of protection and use of the animal world;

ensure protection and rational use of the animal world, and exercise departmental and/or production control in the field of protection and use of the animal world in assigned territories;

use animal world objects in a manner that does not violate the integrity of natural populations of wild animals and ensures preservation of wild animals not permitted for use;

prevent destruction of habitats, breeding sites and migration routes of wild animals;

conduct accounting of wild animal numbers and records of volumes of their use;

make timely payment for special use of animal world objects;

implement biotechnical measures for protection and rational use of the animal world;

not violate the rights of other users of animal world objects;

fully compensate for damage caused by violation of the requirements of the legislation on protection and use of the animal world.

Users of animal world objects may also have other rights and bear other obligations in accordance with legislation.

The types of use of animal world objects shall include:

hunting;

fishing;

relocation, acclimatization and hybridization of wild animals;

use of animal world objects for cultural-educational, training and aesthetic purposes;

use of animal world objects for scientific and monitoring purposes;

use of beneficial properties of the life activity of wild animals;

use of wild animals for obtaining products of their life activity;

keeping wild animals in semi-free conditions, artificially created habitats or in captivity;

use of animal world objects for medical, sanitary-epidemiological and veterinary purposes;

regulation of the number of wild animals;

creation and replenishment of zoological collections.

Other types of use of animal world objects may also be provided for by legislation.

Use of animal world objects shall be carried out either with or without removal of wild animals from their natural habitats.

Searching for, tracking, pursuit of and attempting to catch, or catching (shooting, capturing) wild animals living in a natural state for the purpose of taking them shall be deemed hunting. Being in hunting grounds with an unholstered (assembled, ready for use) hunting weapon, other hunting tools, hunting products, unleashed hunting dogs or trained hunting birds shall also be deemed hunting.

Hunting may be carried out for sport, amateur or industrial purposes.

Hunting shall be permitted within the terms and in the places specified in permits issued for special use of animal world objects.

Individuals shall be issued permits for sport and amateur hunting provided they have a hunting certificate and a permit for storage and carrying of a hunting firearm or pneumatic hunting weapon (if such weapon is intended to be used).

Industrial hunting by legal entities shall be permitted in the manner established by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

It shall not be permitted to use weapons and methods prohibited by the rules in the field of protection and use of the animal world when carrying out hunting.

Hunting of animals in distress or in unnatural conditions shall be prohibited.

It shall be prohibited for persons in places where hunting is prohibited, in protected natural areas, or on public roads, to have hunting weapons, other hunting tools, hunting products, unleashed hunting dogs or trained hunting birds, as well as to have an unholstered (assembled, ready for use) hunting weapon or hunting products without documents confirming the legality of the catch.

Fishing and catching of aquatic invertebrates shall be deemed fishing. Being in fishing grounds with fishing gear, other fishing implements or fishing products shall also be deemed fishing.

Fishing may be carried out for sport, amateur or industrial purposes.

In water bodies, fishing for sport and amateur purposes shall be permitted free of charge or for a fee, on the basis of permits (vouchers, animal catching sheets) of hunting and fishing societies, in the places assigned to such societies, except in water bodies located within the reserve zones of state nature reserves, nature parks and state biosphere reserves.

Fishing for sport and amateur purposes shall be permitted in natural water bodies, fish hatcheries and fish farms assigned to fishery organizations, on the basis of permits (vouchers, animal catching sheets) of such organizations.

Industrial fishing in natural water bodies (except for fish hatcheries, fish farms, main canals, collectors and small streams) by legal entities and individuals shall be permitted in the manner established by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

On the basis of a decision of the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, periods prohibiting fishing during fish spawning shall be established.

It shall not be permitted to use weapons and methods prohibited by the rules in the field of protection and use of the animal world when carrying out fishing.

All lands, waters and forests that constitute the habitat and migration routes of wild animals permitted for hunting and (or) fishing for sport, amateur and industrial purposes shall be considered hunting and (or) fishing grounds.

The following shall not be considered hunting and (or) fishing grounds:

lands of settlements (cities, towns and rural settlements), except for amateur and sport fishing;

lands designated for nature protection, health and recreation purposes, and lands on which tangible cultural heritage objects are located, if their regime does not provide for hunting and (or) fishing;

lands intended for industrial, transport, communications, defence and other purposes, as well as border zones;

agricultural lands until harvesting is completed, except for cases of sport and amateur hunting and (or) fishing carried out by agreement with landowners and land users;

green areas of cities, other settlements and industrial centers;

sanitary protection zones around enterprises;

sanitary protection zones of water supply sources;

prohibited zones of forests protecting spawning areas of commercially valuable fish;

aerodromes and aerodrome surrounding zones;

sections (zones) at dams, water-diversion facilities, bridges, within fish-breeding farms, ponds and other cultural fishery facilities, or at a certain distance from these facilities as established by their protection regime.

A territory allocated to legal entities or individuals in the manner established by law, where protection and reproduction measures are carried out and hunting and (or) fishing is conducted, shall be a hunting and (or) fishing economy.

For the conduct of a hunting and (or) fishing economy, land plots or water bodies may be granted to legal entities and individuals in the manner prescribed by law.

The conduct of a hunting and (or) fishing economy shall be carried out on the basis of:

the opinion of the state environmental expertise on the projects for the organization of hunting and (or) fishing grounds;

data on the state registration of animal world objects and on the accounting of their use, as well as materials on the condition of hunting and (or) fishing grounds;

quotas and permits granting the right to use animal world objects issued to legal and natural persons.

The procedure for conducting hunting and (or) fishing economy, as well as the rules of hunting and fishing, shall be established by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Relocation of wild animals to new habitats, acclimatization of wild animal species new to the fauna, as well as hybridization of wild animals shall be permitted for scientific and economic purposes on the basis of the conclusion of the state environmental expertise and the opinion of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Unauthorized relocation, acclimatization and hybridization of wild animals shall be prohibited.

Use of animal world objects for cultural-educational, training and aesthetic purposes shall be permitted, whether wild animals are taken from their habitat or not, in the manner established by legislation.

Use of animal world objects for scientific and monitoring purposes aimed at the study and conservation of the animal world shall be permitted throughout the year, including during the fishing ban period, with the consent of the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, taking into account the opinion of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Use of the beneficial properties of the life activity of wild animals — soil formers, natural sanitizers of the environment, pollinators of plants, as well as other useful properties of wild animals — shall be permitted provided that they are not removed from their habitat and no harm is caused to wild animals or their habitat.

Use of wild animals for obtaining products of their life activity shall be permitted provided that the animals are not removed from their habitat, not destroyed, and no harm is caused to them or their habitat.

Conditions in which wild animals live within enclosed territories, move freely and carry out all life processes, mainly feeding on natural food and spending most of their life without human interference, shall constitute semi-free conditions.

Conditions in which wild animals live in confined spaces (cages, enclosures, on a leash, etc.) and are fully dependent on humans for their life processes shall constitute artificially created habitats or captivity.

Keeping of wild animals for breeding, scientific research, display, reproduction, as well as for commercial purposes in semi-free conditions, artificially created habitats or captivity shall be permitted on the basis of permits issued by the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Keeping of wild animals included in the Red Book of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as poisonous animals, in semi-free conditions, artificially created habitats or captivity shall be permitted only in special nurseries established with the authorization of the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in agreement with the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The list of wild animals prohibited from being kept in semi-free conditions, artificially created habitats or captivity by individuals, as well as the procedure for keeping wild animals included in this list by legal entities, shall be established by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Unauthorized release of wild animals kept in semi-free conditions, artificially created habitats or captivity into the natural environment without a permit from the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall be prohibited.

Use of animal world objects for medical, sanitary-epidemiological and veterinary purposes shall be permitted, whether they are removed from their habitat or not, in the manner established by law.

Measures aimed at maintaining, increasing or reducing the number of certain species of wild animals within their habitats shall constitute regulation of the number of wild animals.

Regulation of the number of certain species of wild animals shall be carried out in order to protect public health, prevent diseases among farm animals and domestic animals, prevent harm to legal entities and individuals, and preserve species diversity of the animal world.

Such regulation shall be carried out by methods that exclude harm to other species of animals and ensure the preservation of their habitats, taking into account the opinions of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan and in agreement with the relevant state bodies responsible for the protection and use of land, water and forest resources.

The species of wild animals whose numbers are subject to regulation and the methods for carrying out regulation measures shall be determined by the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan in agreement with the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and in the event of signs of infectious diseases among wild animals, in agreement with the Committee for Veterinary and Livestock Development under the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Creation and replenishment of zoological collections by legal entities and individuals through the removal of wild animals from their natural habitat shall be permitted only on the basis of permits issued by the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The procedure for the creation, replenishment, preservation, use and state registration of zoological collections shall be established by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Zoological collections shall be subject to state registration. A certificate of state registration of zoological collections shall be issued by the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

In order to protect certain species of wild animals, the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan may, taking into account the opinions of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, impose restrictions or prohibitions on the use of these species of animals or certain types of their use.

For the purposes of animal protection, the rights of landowners, land users, tenants and owners of land plots, as well as users of forests, water users, water consumers and subsoil users may be restricted and relevant obligations imposed on them in the manner established by law.

In order to ensure the protection of the animal world, the right of special use of animal world objects may be suspended, terminated or revoked.

The right of special use of animal world objects may be suspended in the following cases:

when violations of requirements and conditions of permits are identified;

when the decision of the specially authorized state body to eliminate identified violations is not fulfilled by users of animal world objects.

The right of special use of animal world objects shall be terminated in the following cases:

when the need for use ceases or the user refuses it;

upon expiry of the established period of use;

when the legislation on the protection and use of the animal world is violated;

when it is necessary to withdraw animal world objects from use for the purpose of their protection;

upon the death of a natural person to whom the right was granted, termination of his activity, or liquidation of a legal entity.

Legislation may also provide for other grounds for suspension or termination of the right of special use of animal world objects.

The right of special use of animal world objects may be revoked on the following grounds:

on the basis of an application by the user for revocation of the permit;

when it is established that the permit was obtained using forged documents.

The right of special use of animal world objects shall be suspended, terminated or revoked in the manner established by law.

Wild animals unlawfully captured, their products, as well as hunting weapons and other hunting tools used in unlawful capture shall be subject to seizure or confiscation in the manner established by law.

If it is impossible to seize unlawfully captured wild animals or their products from the offenders, their value shall be collected in the amount and manner provided by law.

Distribution and use of funds received as payment for the use of animal world objects, fines, and amounts collected from offenders as compensation for damage caused to animal world objects shall be carried out in the manner established by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Legal entities and individuals shall be obliged to compensate for damage caused by violation of the legislation on the protection and use of the animal world in the manner established by law.

Compensation for damage shall not exempt guilty persons from liability in accordance with the law.

Disputes in the field of protection and use of the animal world shall be settled in the manner established by law.

Persons guilty of violating the legislation on the protection and use of the animal world shall be liable in the manner established by law.