Stray dogs and cats on the streets surge after Russia’s mobilization order

Escaped citizens and abandoned conscript reservists… animal shelter saturation

(Vladivostok = Yonhap News) Correspondent Choi Soo-ho = After the reserve forces are partially mobilized in Russia, there are frequent cases of escaped or conscripted citizens leaving their pets on the streets.

According to the local media on the 7th, after the mobilization order was issued on the 21st of last month, hundreds of dogs and cats were found wandering without owners on the streets of Novosibirsk, Siberia. Most of the animals were abandoned when their owners left the country in a hurry or when they were conscripted.

Abandoned pets are found not only on the streets, but also in airports and empty houses where their owners have left.

As the number of abandoned animals has increased rapidly in recent years, it appears that animal welfare facilities in the area have already reached saturation.

Some villagers call animal shelters and threaten to abandon them or kill them if they don’t take care of them, animal rights activists said.

Elena Starkova, head of a local animal rights group, said: “There has been a lot of human cruelty to animals recently.

A similar situation can be seen in Krasnodar Oblast in western Russia.

This month, the Russian social networking service (SNS) Vkontakte (VK) used by residents of Krasnodar has frequently posted articles saying, “I found a dog abandoned on the road. We need find the owner.”

Residents also said that compared to before the mobilization order was issued, the number of dogs roaming the streets has increased recently.

“Recently, many cats and dogs have been abandoned, but there is no place to take care of them,” said Anna Weimann, an animal rights activist in Yekaterinburg, central Russia.

Animal rights campaigners are warning that the problem of animals left to roam the streets carelessly could worsen as the cold winter approaches.

Activists appealed for the urgent need for support, saying, “While the number of abandoned animals is increasing, donations or volunteers to help shelters are decreasing.”

Russian local governments have also taken action.

According to the Interfax news agency, the Amur state of the Far East recently announced that it is ready to operate eight shelters that can provide temporary accommodation for the pets of conscripted citizens.

An Amur province official said, “Conscripted residents can leave their pets in shelters if there is no other choice.”

Animal abandonment is considered one of Russia’s long-standing challenges.

Stray dogs attacking passers-by are repeated every year. Even this year, there have been several cases of children being bitten by abandoned dogs in the Far East, including Sakhalin and Kamchatka.

However, some regions are having difficulties catching stray dogs due to a shortage of foreign anesthetics due to Western sanctions following the Ukraine crisis.

suho@yna.co.kr

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