Corruption Risks in the Field of Public-Legal Protection of Animals: Case of Ukraine

The article deals with the corruption risks in the field of exercising the powers of public-legal protection of animals. It is proved that such risks represent a system of spiritual, cultural, legal, organizational, economic, political and other factors that enable and/or encourage officials of public administration bodies to commit corruption offenses while exercising their authority in the field of animal protection. The essence of these factors is outlined, the specifics of which are determined by the nature of the subject of legal protection, the content and subjects of the implementation of public authority powers, the hierarchical level of their implementation. Wild and domestic (pets and homeless) animals in Ukraine are protected by the structures of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, the state service of Ukraine for Food safety and Consumer Protection, the state Forestry Agency of Ukraine and the state Fisheries Industry Agency of Ukraine, as well as local public authorities and community groups. Corruption risks are specified on examples of these bodies, including those that make use of their discretionary powers or those which are not granted adequate powers. It has been found that these risks are also due to structural deficiencies, a low level of legal culture among officials and their socioeconomic and/or legal insecurity.