Animal rights activists are outraged: For the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russian authorities are said to want to kill more than 2,000 stray dogs and cats. Those responsible allow their scandalous project to cost a lot and don’t hold back with sneering comments.
Olympics 2014 in Sochi: For stray dogs and cats the death sentence? — Image: Shutterstock / cristi180884
Another major sporting event in Eastern Europe seems to be causing an animal scandal: After the 2012 European Football Championship in Ukraine, Russian authorities now want to stage the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, allegedly free of stray dogs and cats, which are plentiful in the city . This is reported by the German Press Agency (dpa), citing an interview by the Russian MP Sergei Krivonosov with the newspaper “RBK Daily”.
“Catch, select and eliminate” for more than 40,000 euros
The killing of the strays was even advertised publicly: for the equivalent of 42,500 euros, professional animal catchers are to eliminate more than 2,000 stray dogs and cats. Krivonosov is quoted in words that must sound like mockery in the ears of animal lovers: “We have an obligation to the international community,” he is said to have told the “RBK Daily” on Wednesday. Because stray dogs and cats are a problem that cannot be overlooked, killing them is “the quickest way to solve the problem.” The cruel motto of the tender: “Catch, select and eliminate”.
This is how dogs and cats should actually fare:
Discussion undesirable – animal rights activists outraged
Whether those responsible can still change their minds seems questionable. According to the news channel n-tv, those responsible are primarily concerned with putting Russia in a good light during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Animal rights activists around the world are of course outraged by this approach and are calling for the problem of stray dogs and cats to be solved in other ways. The animals should be sterilized instead.
When will boycotts be called?
It remains to be seen whether there will be calls for a boycott, as was the case with the 2012 European Football Championship. However, animal lovers will probably think twice before traveling to Russia for the Games or watching the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics on TV.
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