Ukraine 'slaughtering' dogs ahead of Euro 2012
Source: Agencies |
October 25, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ONE sunny summer morning, a stray mongrel the neighbors called Naida swallowed a piece of sausage she found on the ground. Soon after, she collapsed.
For the next two hours the dog convulsed in agony, barking and howling in a high-pitched voice, saliva and blood dripping from her mouth.
"What did they punish you for, my good girl?" an elderly woman said as she wept and doused the dog with water, hoping to relieve some of the pain, but Naida died.
Animal welfare groups accuse Ukrainian authorities of using illegal and inhumane methods of killing stray dogs that cause long, agonizing deaths. They say dogs are often poisoned or injected with banned substances as officials rush to clear streets ahead of the Euro 2012 soccer championship next summer.
Euro 2012 organizers deny any involvement in an eradication campaign.
Official statistics are hard to come by, but figures and estimates provided by authorities in the Euro 2012 host cities of Kiev, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Lviv suggest more than 9,000 dogs have been put to death over the past year. Animal protection groups believe the number is far higher.
"It is a slaughterhouse," said Asya Serpinska, head of the Ukrainian Association of Animal Protection Organizations. "We are convinced there is an unofficial order to purge Euro 2012 cities of strays so that, God forbid, some stray dog does not bite some foreigner."
Ukraine has a large stray dog population, estimated at tens of thousands in some cities. The dogs often run in packs, and nearly 3,000 people reported being bitten last year in Kiev and about 1,900 in Kharkiv, according to city officials.
On paper, officials have embraced the internationally accepted practice of sterilizing strays and releasing them in areas where they pose no public threat, placing them in shelters or finding them homes.
Activists claim that in reality a stray handled by authorities has little chance of survival. The only question, they say, is how much it will suffer before it dies.
For the next two hours the dog convulsed in agony, barking and howling in a high-pitched voice, saliva and blood dripping from her mouth.
"What did they punish you for, my good girl?" an elderly woman said as she wept and doused the dog with water, hoping to relieve some of the pain, but Naida died.
Animal welfare groups accuse Ukrainian authorities of using illegal and inhumane methods of killing stray dogs that cause long, agonizing deaths. They say dogs are often poisoned or injected with banned substances as officials rush to clear streets ahead of the Euro 2012 soccer championship next summer.
Euro 2012 organizers deny any involvement in an eradication campaign.
Official statistics are hard to come by, but figures and estimates provided by authorities in the Euro 2012 host cities of Kiev, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Lviv suggest more than 9,000 dogs have been put to death over the past year. Animal protection groups believe the number is far higher.
"It is a slaughterhouse," said Asya Serpinska, head of the Ukrainian Association of Animal Protection Organizations. "We are convinced there is an unofficial order to purge Euro 2012 cities of strays so that, God forbid, some stray dog does not bite some foreigner."
Ukraine has a large stray dog population, estimated at tens of thousands in some cities. The dogs often run in packs, and nearly 3,000 people reported being bitten last year in Kiev and about 1,900 in Kharkiv, according to city officials.
On paper, officials have embraced the internationally accepted practice of sterilizing strays and releasing them in areas where they pose no public threat, placing them in shelters or finding them homes.
Activists claim that in reality a stray handled by authorities has little chance of survival. The only question, they say, is how much it will suffer before it dies.
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