Residents of a small village in Russia’s republic of Sakha (Yakutia) protested after a 12-year-old girl died from injuries sustained in an attack by stray dogs. The village has been dealing with packs of strays terrorizing the area for years, and residents are frustrated with the lack of action taken by local authorities, prompting calls for residents to take matters into their own hands. The protest was quickly dispersed by a squad of police officers, highlighting the tense situation in the community.
Chulman, the village where the incident occurred, has been struggling with a stray dog crisis for decades, with more than 150 stray dogs roaming the village at the time of the attack. The head of the village mentioned that there is a shelter ready to open, but there is no one available to catch the dogs. This lack of action has led to a tragic outcome, prompting calls for the safety of residents, especially children, to be prioritized in the community.
Following the recent attack, a group of parents called for the school in Chulman to move all lessons online until the safety of their children is guaranteed. However, the school’s principal stated that she only received one official request from a parent, dismissing the calls as emotional reactions to the incident. The situation has brought attention to the recurring problem of stray dog attacks in the region and the need for a long-term solution to address the root causes of the issue.
Statistics indicate that as many as 770 stray dog attacks were recorded in Yakutsk in the first six months of the year, with a total of 1,390 attacks reported last year. President Vladimir Putin signed a law giving regional governments the authority to establish rules for handling stray animals, including euthanization as a form of population control. However, experts argue that euthanization is not an effective solution and advocate for programs like CNVR, which have been successful in some European countries.
Sakha was among the regions that adopted a law allowing the killing of stray animals in shelters, but the Supreme Court ordered to nullify a clause that allowed for the murder of “unwanted” dogs. Animal rights activists emphasize that laws focusing on euthanization do not address the underlying issues of stray animal populations and call for comprehensive measures based on successful international practices. There is a need for authorities to learn from other countries’ experiences and implement sustainable solutions to resolve the stray dog problem in the region effectively.
