DC folks:
You may like to weigh in on this article, which is announced on the front page of today's Washington Post and then printed on A13 under the title, "Parts of Russia return to using kill shelters, frustrating pet activists." I found it to be a wake-up call in that it notes that Russia is in danger of backtracking, while it seems to make clear that the country has been light years ahead of the United States in this field for the past few years, given that here in the US we still put down hundreds of thousands of wonderful adoptable dogs every year.
From the article:
"Buryatia’s new laws contradict Russia’s previous animal protection policies and, in particular, promises made by Putin — a dog lover himself — during his 2020 push to rewrite the country’s constitution. The revisions paved the way for Putin to stay in power until 2036 and also introduced various other changes, including a provision about the need to shape 'a sense of responsibility when treating animals' in Russian society...
"During one campaign event ahead of the constitutional referendum, Putin said that the new constitutional requirement 'allows us to feel like civilized people.' Other laws effectively outlawed kill-shelters and mass euthanasia.
"But all that changed last spring when two people were found dead in the southern Astrakhan region with bite marks on their bodies, and after a pack of dogs fatally mauled an 8-year-old boy in the city of Orenburg...."
The article is well worth reading! Here's a gift link from DawnWatch.
Yours and all animals',
Karen Dawn of DawnWatch
