ANO “Center for Animal Welfare Legal Protection”

Homeless Animals Stage Bloody Fights Yelena Racheva What Do Have Humans Have To Do with This?       In Krasnogorsk District of Moscow suburbs, stray dogs attacked a roe. The pack surrounded the roe that had been fed by people and used to come out of the wood, and nearly tore the roe to pieces. A chance passer-by saw what was going on, interfered and drove the dogs with a stick, whereupon he delivered the animal to the Veterinary Academy.       - Stary dogs are like wolves, says Konstantin Sadovedov, a vet specialist of the Skryabin Moscow State Veterinary Academy, - they do not fear man or wild animals. You give them a chance to smell blood or see a hint of aggression in humans, and they will be first to attack.       The roe experienced a 7-hour long operation at the Skryabin Veterinary Academy. According to Sadovedov, judging by the wounds on roe's body, a pack of dogs put up a real hunt for the poor animal: there was not a single undamaged bone in roe's legs.       Packs of dogs already have killed nearly all animals on Losinyi Ostrov (Elk Island), including elks and dappled deers, they have learned how to dig out of the ground and eat hedgehogs in Serebryanyi Bor ('Slver Wood'), have eaten up all hares and frogs. Vets insist that unless the monitoring of numbers of stray dogs is commenced now, the dogs will fight among themselves for survival, which will result in survival of the strongest and most aggressive individuals. Action must be taken to curb the numbers of dog populations: they must be placed in orphanages or sterilized, the rate of sterilization in Moscow is under 10%.       At present, the wounded roe is at the hospital of the Veterinary Academy. Nobody can be sure if the roe will be cured fully. The vet specialists believe this may be the last roe in Moscow Oblast. "Novaya Gazeta", 27.01.2005 Return to page "The death of a roe" Return to main page