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The text of the open letter
from our organization
to Mr. Yu. M. Luzhkov, Mayor of Moscow,
published in the Moskovskaya Pravda newspaper
of January 14, 2005
The Last Chance to Save the Animal Kingdom!
Dear Yuri Mikhailovich,
This is to advise you that we have received information from the group of authors of the Red Data Book of Moscow about the results of an account of rare species of animals in the Moscow environment habitats, taken in November 2004 - January 2005. The account indicates that practically all overland animals – ground-nesting birds, hares, minks, least weasels, ermines and others, including many species that are entered in the Red Data Book of Moscow, have been exterminated by packs of homeless dogs. Most of Moscow’s forest park zones that used to be inhabited by various animal species a bare 2-3 years ago have since turned into a biological desert inhabited only by homeless dogs and rodents! All this is a direct sequel to the program of “humane reduction of the population of homeless animals”, pursued by the city authorities since 2001, which has legitimated and made normal the permanent free presence of homeless dogs on the city territory. The data obtained by the writers of the Red Data Book of Moscow have confirmed the well-known fact of classic ecology that dogs as domestic animals are foreign to the natural ecosystem. Therefore, legitimating their free habitation is inadmissible because it leads to biocenotic pollution (as also stated in the RF “Animal Kingdom Act” (Article 24) and "Environment Protection Act" (Articles 3, 50, 60)) and, in consequence, to the destruction of the natural ecosystem which is known to be irrecoverable!
Besides, we have earlier obtained data about the negative influence of homeless dogs on the city ecology from scores of comments by environmental protection and ecological organizations. These comments also contained information about the extermination by homeless dogs of wild fauna, notably, deer and roe deer in the “Losinyi Ostrov” (“Elk Island”) National Park. These comments were forwarded to you in a written address in July 2004. At about the same time the Federal Sanitary Epidemiological Supervision Centre approached you with a rationale drawn up for urgent action to resolve the homeless animal problem in view of increased biting rate and rabies hazard. So what measures have been taken? In August 2004 we learned from the media about "action of wholesale sterilization" of homeless animals. We know how that action proceeded – it involved no more than a hundred homeless dogs!!! In other words, everything remained as it was.
In the meantime, the said zoodestructive policy has already been translated into law – the “Law on Keeping Domestic Animals in the City of Moscow" passed by the Moscow City Duma in the first reading. The drafter of the Act, the Department of Housing/Public Utilities and Social Amenities ignored our repeated attempts to have it amended.
Our zooprotecting organization voiced its protest about a year ago in the articles “Dogs’ Waltz to Cats’ Requiem" ("Moskovskaya Pravda" of 05.12.2003) and "Don’t Wake Up the Sleeping Zooprotector!" ("Moskovskaya Pravda" of 16.01.2004) against intensive, ecocide-like extermination of homeless cats by homeless dogs in Moscow, which is meant by the program of "humane regulation of numbers", since free co-existence of these animals makes it impossible to protect cats from dogs which cancels out the program’s humane aims and objectives. But the authorities did not hear us. Moreover, the city fauna management department told us that it would sue us for libel to punish us for having told the people the truth for the first time.
Today we are again expressing our protest because of the real danger of Moscow of losing virtually the entire animal kingdom owing to perseverance in the same pseudohumane policy. We earnestly ask you: do take adequate steps towards repairing the Moscow animal disaster.
The first thing to do to this end must be, in our view, to invite competent people for drafting the “Law on Keeping Domestic Animals in the City of Moscow" and appoint the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection as its drafter since the issues related to the RF “Animal Kingdom” and “Environmental Protection” legislation, which are basic to this law-making, are within the purview of the said Department. At the same time, the Department of Housing/Public Utilities and Social Amenities has exhibited total incompetence in these matters if only by producing a false concept of "homeless animals keeping up a biological balance", which, applied during the four years of this Department’s management of the city fauna, has led to the extermination of the animal kingdom.
It is outrageous that this extermination should be paid for with budget money behind the back of totally unsuspecting taxpayers who are being cynically told by TV and the media about a humane policy in respect of animals. We believe that the officials responsible for the destruction of the animal kingdom through their fault must also be held accountable for having furnished distorted information about the state of the environment.
The homeless animals problem has long since been resolved in many civilized countries. But the generally accepted ways of resolving it have nothing in common with what is happening in Moscow. The main principle that must be present by all means in dealing with this problem is that of squaring demand for and supply of domestic animals, which is achieved by imposing restrictions on cat and dog owners and the litter they beget. The way to do it is by differentiated taxation to be levied on cat and dog owners, which would simultaneously make it possible to accumulate resources for really effective handling of homeless animals. We sent a detailed rationale for a three-tier system of arrangements for a humane solution of the homeless animals problem in Russia to the RF President in October 2004.
All our materials have been placed on our site www.AnimalsProtectionTribune.ru.
Sincerely yours,
Evgeny A. Ilyinsky,
Director,
Charitable Society for the Protection of Homeless Animals, ANO
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