Sochi animal rights defender suspected of hooliganism after saving animals

In Sochi, the police detained five participants of a spontaneous protest action to save dogs. Animal rights defender Viktoria Mylnikova, who tried to draw the attention of law enforcers to animal cruelty, has been charged with hooliganism.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that social media users demanded from the Mayoralty of Sochi to respond to the killings of dogs. According to the social media users, officials do not prevent mass killings of animals before the holiday season. In the spring of 2020, Sochi animal rights defenders also complained that stray animals, including those cared for by volunteers, were being killed in the city.

On the night of September 15, in Sochi, about 200 people gathered because of the actions of the local administration of Sochi and a company which won the tender for catching stray animals. The activists blocked the motor way, recorded the terrible conditions, in which about 40 caught dogs were kept, and released them, Viktoria Mylnikova reported.

Animal rights defender Valentina Savateeva expressed her indignation about the actions of the police and employees of the company for catching stray animals, who kept dogs without water, food, and in the heat. According to Valentina Savateeva, animal rights defenders are not allowed to work according to the law.

“I know Viktoria Mylnikova as a decent, kind person, who has done a lot to solve the problem with stray animals ... The activist faces a 15-day arrest. She has a large shelter, and if she is jailed, who will take care of her animals? They will simply die. Instead of awarding the activist, officials try to put her in jail,” Valentina Savateeva said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 15, 2022 at 04:45 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.