Caretakers of outcast animals in Sochi are under threat of eviction

The public charitable organization in Sochi, engaged in taking care of outcast animals, may be deprived of its premises, since the bosses of the Federal State Educational Establishment of Secondary Vocational Training "Sochi Economic-Technological College" is going to hand over these premises occupied by animals defenders and belonging to the college to some security entity.

Under assertions of the activists-caretakers, earlier these premises were not used at all by college and were in the state of emergency. The members of the organization gave money to make repairs.

"Our organization is here for 12 years," Alla Petrinchik, and veterinary and chairperson of the society, has emphasized, doctor. "During these years we helped thousands of outcast animals and pets, of whom nobody takes care in the city."

The veterinary also said that should the organization lose its rooms, the would-be Olympic capital would see the threat of infectious diseases, since outcast dogs and cats are source of infections, and, if not treated, may infect humans with rabies, toxoplasinosis, clamidiosis and other infections, causing epidemic outbreaks.

According to Ms Petrinchik, all the interested organizations including Sochi Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov are aware of the problems. "However, local authorities are providing no alternative to us," she said.

According to eyewitnesses, on February 9, at 11 a.m. employees of the college rushed into the room, where volunteers were rendering help to animals, and, having referred to the order of their director, cut off the electric power. As a result, the expensive medicines bought for animals and kept in the refrigerator got spoilt.

The director of the college, A. G. Rogais by name, who earlier worked for the militia, refused from comments, but just sent a paper, saying that he was going to hand the premises over to a security agency. The latter plans to make an office there and get engaged in antiterrorist operations.

According to Ms Petrinchik, her organization was timely and duly paying the rental fee and all the municipal bills, and made the repairs of the room. The activists have addressed the court and prosecutor's office against Mr. Rogais actions.

Active members of the organization held their extraordinary meeting and expressed their protest against the policy of the authorities aimed at liquidation of outcast animals, which under the law should be first taken to a shelter, examined by a veterinary, helped and, as far as possible, given to a new owner.

Activists told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that in the eyes of children and adults the workers of the special motorized service (SMS) of Sochi liquidate healthy dogs and cats by shooting poison at them from special guns.

The SMS bosses did not refute this information, having explained their actions by the order of the head of the city and requirements of the "Rospotrebnadzor" (Federal Agency for Consumer Supervision). Workers of the service explained that they have a plan for murdering a certain number of cats and dogs per day.