Will the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Moshe Gafni, revive the bill calling for a tax on dog owners? (Photo: Reuven Castro)
A Torah Judaism bill, submitted last April, calls for a new environmental tax to be imposed on dog owners in Israel, which will cost NIS 3,500 per year for each dog.
Will the bill be resurrected now that the political reality in the country has changed?
These days the power of Torah Judaism is in heaven.
The submitters of the bill, MK Moshe Gafni, the chairman of the finance committee in the new government, and MK Uri Makleb, are elsewhere, on the side of the winners, and now the obvious question arises: will that bill end up with only taxation and a finger in the eye against the nylon law at the time of Lieberman, who has already been removed from the chapter, or will she rise again and pass in the next government?
We will know the answer to this soon, but the reality cannot be debated - the proposed law is intended to impose an environmental fee on dog owners.
As written in the proposal: "This environmental fee will reflect the great environmental damages and costs caused as a result of dog breeding, and which harm the delicate ecological balance around us."
In other words, this proposal is consistent with the fundamental principle of environmental law, the "polluter pays" principle.
And who has dogs according to Torah Judaism?
For the rich of course.
The worldview of Torah Judaism
Preserving the quality of the environment and dealing with the global climate crisis are at the heart of the public debate in Israel and around the world in recent years.
In recent times, a number of far-reaching measures have been promoted in order to reduce environmental pollution, which focused on the weaker sections of society in Israel.
At the head of these moves is the one-time tax on dishes, which severely affected disadvantaged populations and especially the ultra-orthodox society.
The current bill does indeed deal with dog breeding only, but even if it is a matter of trespassing, it should be seen as part of a broad social and environmental worldview.
The initiators of the law intend to examine additional offensive environmental habits, which are accepted mainly in the powerful strata, and to promote legislation that will encourage a change of behavior in relation to them as well.
Gafni and Makleb wrote: "The efforts of the current government were therefore focused on the weak strata. They almost did not touch at all the serious environmental damages caused as a result of the consumption habits and behavior of the strata of the population that are commonly referred to as 'Israel the first'."
Dogs: only for the rich?
Tel Aviv is the city with the most dog owners in Israel (Photo: ShutterStock)
The starting point of the bill is that all layers of the population, even the established ones, must bear the environmental burden.
The powerful strata cannot place the burden of protecting the environment on the weak strata alone, and only demand that they change their habits - but "Israel the first" is also required to mobilize, examine old habits, especially those that are a luxury, and adapt them to the global environmental reality.
If the explanations are not enough for you, then the proposal also states: "Many studies around the world show that raising pets, and especially pets that are fed processed meat, has severe environmental consequences. It increases the volume of carbon dioxide emissions in the world and contributes to the worsening of the global climate crisis. Thus, for example , a study conducted in the United States in 2017 revealed that pets in the United States alone consume approximately 43 billion kg of meat and cause emissions of greenhouse gases amounting to 64 tons of carbon dioxide.
Additional studies have shown that the amount of emissions produced by a domestic dog is twice that produced by an SUV.
Taking care of the needs of domestic animals also harms the environment a lot.
These needs usually end up in the trash cans and not in the sewer system and cause serious environmental damage.
The aforementioned treatment also increases the use of plastic bags, which cause a lot of environmental damage."
Tel Aviv tops the list of dog owners - Beitar Ilit is at the bottom of the list
According to the data of the National Center for the Registration of Dogs in the Veterinary Services of the Ministry of Agriculture, the city of Tel Aviv is at the top of the list of dog owners in Israel in recent years.
For example, in 2020, 39,373 dogs were registered in Tel Aviv, followed by Rishon Lezion, where 17,720 dogs were registered, and then the city of Haifa, where 16,585 dogs were registered.
The ultra-orthodox city of Beitar Illit is at the bottom of the list with the least number of dogs in Israel (in absolute terms).
Tel Aviv is also at the top of the list of cities where more than one dog lives at home, and 2,998 families owning more than one dog live there.
There will be no discrimination here: if the proposal passes, a cat fee - later
In the bill that Gafni and Makleb put on the table, it is proposed to impose a unique environmental fee on every person who owns a dog.
The fee will be paid as an annual payment of NIS 3,500 for the first dog, and a double fee of NIS 7,000 for each additional dog.
In order to avoid collection difficulties and bureaucratic awkwardness, it is suggested that this fee be collected through the local authority, along with the annual license fees charged to dog owners.
The fee will be transferred to a dedicated fund that will be managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and will be used to promote the treatment of street animals.
Since the law regulating the supervision of dogs, 2002 deals with dogs only, it is proposed at this stage to limit the fee only to dog owners, but do not worry about discrimination: in the proposal it is stated that the way to expand the environmental fee to additional pet breeders will be examined later in the legislative process. such as cats.
And what about guide dogs? (Photo: ShutterStock)
Breeding dogs may also be for vital purposes.
A clear example of this is guide dogs, but it is not the only example.
Breeding a dog may also be necessary for additional health purposes, such as mental health, or for other essential purposes - such as guarding.
In order not to harm the promotion of these important goals, it is proposed to state that dog breeding for health purposes, including mental health, for guarding purposes or for additional purposes determined by the Minister with the approval of the Knesset's Economic Committee, will be exempt from the environmental fee.
Also, in order not to increase the tax burden on vulnerable populations, it is proposed to state that anyone who is entitled to an exemption or discount from property tax, will be exempt from paying the environmental fee.
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