The plight of Moscow's stray dogs
observers.france24.com/en/content/20090116-calvaire-chiens-errants-moscou-0
There are tens of thousands of
stray dogs on the streets of Moscow. Hanging around building sites
and subways, they're rarely aggressive, although attacks don't go
unheard of. No doubt it's pretty scary when you walk down an empty
street at night and suddenly a pack of dogs appears around the
corner.
These homeless hounds are considered a problem by the Moscow
authorities, who have promised to sterilise and tag them, and say
they have even built a number of dog shelters. On paper it looks
quite good. But animal rights activists claim that the reality is
much gloomier.
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"Who gave the command to capture 35,000 stray dogs [...] and send
them to just four unfinished shelters?"
Inna Alekseevna Unanyan is the chairman of Interregional Council of
Stray Animal Custodians.
The situation with stray animals in Moscow is tragic, and not just
for the animals, but for people as well. People believed the
authorities when they issued a resolution on humane regulation of
animal numbers in 2002.
They promised not to kill the dogs. We activists got involved in
the programme. We sterilised, fostered and made the dogs better –
all by ourselves. We waited for the government to fulfill its
promises.
Finally, a year ago, the government decided to build 15 shelters.
But for now only four of the shelters have been built, and even
those are unfinished. They don't have water or electricity; they've
had no funding since last June. But the government still brings
dogs there from all around Moscow. It's not only that the dogs
don't receive professional care, they do not receive any medical
treatment or even food! They are kept in cages and never let out to
run. Sometimes they don't even get any water. Dogs die in these
shelters.
It's a betrayal, betrayal of people who believed the government's
promises and for the past six years looked after the stray animals
themselves. And now, the government's ordered for all of the dogs
to be captured. Right in front of people who have fostered the
animals, they are grabbed and taken to shelters, where they
die.
Moreover, among these 15 shelters there are some with a planned
capacity for between 4,000 and 6,500 dogs. It's sheer madness. Many
people, including some prominent Moscow artists, have protested
against that. We explained that such a crowding is cruel, that
shelters shouldn't accommodate more than 300 dogs. We ask, who
gives these orders? Who gave the command to capture 35,000 stray
dogs in the streets of Moscow and send them to just four unfinished
shelters? Several NGOs filed a lawsuit against Kozhuhovo shelter
which accommodes 700 dogs which are underfed and kept in cages 24
hours a day. Some dogs there have died, the others are kept alive
only because of volunteers. Some dogs just disappear from the
shelters. Our organisation registered a number of cases when dogs
in Moscow were shot. We even have bullets, extracted from wounded
dogs in vets' clinics. We tell the government about these cases,
but the government does nothing about it."
The situation with stray animals in Moscow is tragic, and not just
for the animals, but for people as well. People believed the
authorities when they issued a resolution on humane regulation of
animal numbers in 2002. They promised not to kill the dogs.
Petitions to sign please :
www.thepetitionsite.com/2/petition-from-the-citizens-of-moscow-and-moscow-region-to-the-international-animal-protection
www.gopetition.com/petitions/protect-homeless-dogs-and-cats-in-the-moscow-region.html?utm_medium=RSS
