Residents of Kotovo are alarmed by mass animal poisonings

Unknown individuals are poisoning dogs and cats en masse, including domestic ones, in the district center of Kotovo in the Volgograd region, local residents said. The police are demanding that the owners of the dead animals provide fresh results of the examination, which can only be ordered in Volgograd.

In the district center of Kotovo in the Volgograd region, local residents are concerned about mass cases of poisoning of dogs and cats. The police are demanding that applicants conduct an examination of the dead animals no later than 24 hours. It can only be ordered in Volgograd, which is impossible for residents of a remote area.

Since the beginning of August, in the district center of Kotovo, mainly in the private sector, mass cases of poisoning of dogs and cats have begun to occur, and not only stray animals are dying, but also domestic ones, zoo activist Victoria Bogdanova told a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot".

"I had a cat and a kitten. They practically never left the yard (on Chapaeva Street). They were poisoned, they died in my arms. My friends had a dog sitting on a chain in the yard, it was poisoned. Since mid-August, cases of animal poisoning have become widespread. People go to the police, they accept statements, but they say that the owner himself must order an examination (of the deceased animal). But this must be done within 24 hours in Volgograd, in Kotovo they do not do an examination. But it is almost impossible to do this within 24 hours," Victoria said.

Irina Ermakova, a resident of 9 Maya Street, told the activist that several animals died from poisoning in her neighborhood. On a social network, an unidentified girl reported the death of animals in the yard of house No. 38 on Pobedy Street. Natalya, who lives on Sverdlova Street, had a dog die in agony. On a social network, a young man who did not give his name told Victoria that in the microdistrict "Staroye Kotovo" dogs "died and then lay in the street." "I don't know who contacted the police. Natasha and I contacted them, they accepted our statements. They even sympathized, but there is no evidence: there is no video (of the crime), no examination, no witnesses. They wrote a statement about conducting an investigation into the fact of cruelty to animals," Victoria said.

The animal rights activist listed the symptoms of poisoning of animals that died in Kotovo: foam, convulsions, blue mucous membranes and burst capillaries in the ears. Bogdanova suggested that this is how poison works, but she does not know what kind. The four videos that the activist provided to the editors show how poisoned animals suffer. For ethical reasons, the "Caucasian Knot" does not publish this footage.

“They say they poisoned them because there were a lot of complaints that dogs were attacking children. We were told at the veterinary clinic that the examination had to be done quickly within 24 hours in Volgograd, and that we had to go and transport the body ourselves. People can’t do anything about it, and they don’t know how to behave in such a tragedy. That’s why everyone calmed down out of desperation and will soon perceive cruelty to animals as a normal thing,” Victoria was indignant, adding that she had not yet filed any complaints with the prosecutor’s office or the city administration.

Olga Melnikova reported that her neighbor, a pensioner, had her kitten poisoned, which had never left the yard. According to the woman, “the poison was thrown over the fence.” She now doesn’t let her cats out of the house into the yard. “It was a miracle that (the kitten) survived. We take him to the vet – an IV, pills. Well, his liver is damaged, of course. My neighbor is having a hard time with this. We sterilized five (homeless) dogs at the veterinary clinic, they lived in dachas, on the outskirts of the city, they had tags. Now they died, they were poisoned. Why? They were sterilized, not aggressive," the woman told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Olga noted that the poisonings are focal. According to her, the central streets with apartment buildings have not suffered from animal abusers. "But in the private sector, especially along 9 May Street, animals have been poisoned since spring. I don't know what they poison with, but small children can also suffer - they will put this ball in their mouth and get poisoned. This is not a misdemeanor, this is a crime. And we have already had cases of mass poisoning of dogs, and they poison sterilized dogs marked with tags," Melnikova said.

Lilia Raskop confirmed Olga's words about the death of chipped non-aggressive animals in a dacha cooperative located at the exit from Kotovo. She also reported another group of chipped dogs that disappeared in the same area. According to the woman, a mass killing of stray animals is expected in the city before the start of the school year. "The (city) administration receives applications for the capture and sterilization of animals. But it seems easier for them to buy poison than to order capture," the woman suggested.

Lilia also fears that children may suffer from the poison that kills animals. In addition, she worries that children see the suffering of poisoned animals - this, in her opinion, can have a negative effect on the child's psyche. Lilia also spoke about the "famous capture service from Saratov", which serves the Kotovsky and Kamyshinsky districts. According to her, this service does not return chipped and sterilized animals to their former habitats. "People sometimes see piles of dead dogs along the Saratov highway. Our friend from Kamyshin once tried to stop this service from catching dogs, and a criminal case was opened against her. I don't know how it ended," said Liliya Raskop.

Sergey Korenets, a resident of the Kotovsky district of Serino, reported that two dogs died in his mother-in-law's yard. One was tied up, the other was "free-ranging." "The mother-in-law cried a lot over them. When they died, they suffered greatly, foaming at the mouth, a terrible sight. And the neighbors' children saw all this. Then a dog died in a vacant lot there, also whining for a long time. "I wanted to finish her off with a gun, but my wife told me not to do it because I would be accused of cruelty to animals," the man said.

Sergey assumed that stray animals were poisoned by people whose children were bitten by dogs; there were such cases in Kotovo. But he doesn't know why domestic animals are poisoned. Sergey noted that his mother-in-law did not contact the police and did not file a complaint with either the prosecutor's office or the city administration.

"The authorities should catch stray animals. Dogs should not run around the streets. Cats should not roam freely around the city either, because rabid foxes can come out of the forest and bite them. Rabies, as we know, is mortally dangerous. The authorities must restore order, otherwise people commit crimes on their own,” said Sergey.

Pensioner Elena Vladimirovna said that she does not let her cat out on the street, as she did before. The woman learned about mass poisonings of animals in the district center, so she fears for the life of her pet. “It is customary for cats to roam freely, but she has been sitting in the apartment for almost a month. I am afraid to let her out, poisoners are walking around the city. They say that they spray the grass around the city, I think this is how they poison homeless animals. Probably, it is rat poison, it is the most accessible. I do not think that the administration had such an order, most likely, people kill animals themselves. These are, perhaps, those who were bitten by dogs,” the pensioner suggested.

The administration of the city of Kotovo refused to answer questions from the “Caucasian Knot”, suggesting that an official request be sent to the press service of the governor’s office. The employee who picked up the phone only noted that the mayor's office could not carry out any measures to poison stray animals, "since this is a crime."

Animal rights activist, founder of the "Dina" shelter, Angela Makarova, told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that she had not heard of mass animal poisonings in Kotovo, since she was on a humanitarian mission in Donbass. "Unfortunately, animal poisonings in the Volgograd region are a common occurrence. We constantly receive such information from our volunteers and curators. We tried several times to initiate criminal cases on the facts of cruelty to animals, but all attempts were unsuccessful for us," the animal rights activist complained.

Angela confirmed the need to independently conduct an examination of poisoned animals in specialized laboratories. "Yes, it is necessary to take the dead animal to experts in Volgograd. There are only two licensed ones in the region, and both are in Volgograd. "Of course, there are no such specialists in the regions, such is the imperfection of the system," complained Angela.

Makarova noted that even the results of the examination do not guarantee an investigation and punishment of the guilty. She told about an outrageous case in the city of Krasnoslobodsk, in the vicinity of which her shelter is located - in broad daylight, in front of local residents, a certain man shot stray dogs with a Saiga rifle. Animal rights activists from the Dina shelter conducted an examination of the killed animals in a licensed laboratory, filed a report with the police, and provided the investigator with the pellets removed from the corpses. "But the case ended in nothing. Unfortunately, the criminal article for cruel treatment of animals does not work here," the animal rights activist was indignant.

Lawyer Sergei Ivaschenko also drew attention to the imperfection of the criminal norm on punishment for cruel treatment of animals (Article 245 of the Criminal Code of Russia). According to him, in Russia, investigative bodies initiate 600 to 700 criminal cases under this article every year - in 2024, for example, there were 656 such cases. Punishment for the crime varies from fines (from 80 thousand rubles) to (under aggravating circumstances) imprisonment for a term of three to five years.

“I think few criminal cases are initiated. Such inattention of investigators to animal abusers is due to the fact that it is extremely difficult to collect evidence. For example, in case of poisoning, it is imperative to conduct a forensic veterinary examination, and only a qualified veterinarian can carry it out, of which there are only a few in the regions. An imperfect, non-functioning law leads to a sense of impunity among criminals, which can provoke them to commit more serious crimes,” said Sergei Ivaschenko.

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