|
Autonomous non-profit organization
“Center for Animal Welfare Legal Protection”
|
Part:
LETTERS
THAT CONTAIN INFORMATION ABOUT VIOLATION OF RIGHTS OF CITIZENS WHO RESCUE HOMELESS ANIMALS
Letter from a dweller of Moscow Southern Administrative District
Petition
I implore you to assist us. We’ve been feeding cats for 4 years. At present, we are being driven away from the compound of school No 770 that is house in the building at 9, Medikov Street. The wicked people in question are Olga Aleksandrovna Pavlova and Tamara Mikhailovna (drives us away with a stick). Olga Aleksandrovna teaches all children and the school guard Alesha how to murder and poison cats, and is trying to start a fight, whenever she sees us. I am a disabled of the 1st category, my eyesight is poor, and I’m 80 years old. The women in question have closed up all air-ducts, as a result our tiny little female cats had to live outdoors during the winter, and we fed them on the snow; at present, they live outdoors, under a drizzling rain. The cats can’t go anywhere, they run frightened. “Do not feed them, let them die of starvation, - said Olga Aleksandrovna to me, What I want, I’ll do”. She went on to say: “Take your cats, where you please". Our cats are now fully grown individuals. At the schools, where we all go, they murdered a kitten on August 6; how they did this, we don’t know, they threw the kitten into a puddle, all blood-spattered. We feed our cats at a considerable distance from the school. We used to have many cats, only 3 are left now.
March 4, 2004, Signature
*****
Two letters from a lady-dweller of Moscow Western Administrative District
Letter 1
To: Autonomous Non-profit Organization
“Charitable Society for the Guardianship of Homeless Animals”
I’ve been dealing with homeless and abandoned animals for years. I feed them, if an animals is ailing, I treat it. However, each year, nay, each day it’s becoming increasingly unbearable to do this job. Recently, I had a call from some organization; I was asked about the number of homeless cats that died or were murdered: when I began recalling, I arrived at an enormous number. In 1995-2000 there died fewer cats than in 2000-2005.
Moscow is full of visitors (temporary residents), these people literally hate cats. It’s become difficult to live in this country in general, let alone these hapless abandoned animals; a cat is a most vulnerable of them. For more than 25 years, I’ve been walking out in the evening to feed homeless cats. I find it hard to remember the years, when we all lived in the then USSR, I kept no records, yet I’ll try to remember the last three years. Before my very eyes, the owner of a fighting bred of dog, unmuzzled and without a lead, set his pet at a male cat walking by the window. When I screamed and dashed to the poor animal, it was too late; I managed to bring the cat to my place and tried to save it. After an autopsy it was found that the cat’s ribs had been broken and there was an internal hemorrhage. I called T.Pavlova in a bid to punish that “dog owner”???, but the case was never opened.
In 2003, a neighbor from Flat No 38 beat up my husband as he was closing the landing window; this happened on January 11 at 11 p.m., and outside temperature was minus 27gradC. There was a case opened, but the District Militia Officer Bunin persuaded us to file an application alleging that we had come to terms with that scumbag, whereas that should not have been done. As a result, for three years now, we have been terrorized by those people. We’ve been insulted, they are dropping scrambled eggs under the door, pour dirt, the whole door has been spit all over. When I tried to speak to that woman, she hit me in the face with a mop on a stick twice and then hammered on the door and damaged the upholstery.
Our petitions to militia are useless: they tell us that the facts referred to in our petitions have not been confirmed; only we don’t understand who should confirm them. In April of 2004, as I was feeding the cats in 2nd Filevskaya Street, a man passing by beat me up for this; I reported the fact to militia, yet the District Militia Officer of the “Filevsky Park” Precinct did nothing to search for the “man”.
The people are very spiteful, indifferent, they don’t have pity for anybody. I’ve been insulted, poured water on from a window, still I’m tolerating all this, for I can’t abandon the poor cats; I feel I must feed them, at least once a day. In 2004, nearly 50 cats were torn to pieces by dogs in my beat alone, where I know each cat and keep records; it is very rate that a cat lives to the age of one year: an abandoned home-grown can lives maximum for three months in the street, even less than that. In 2005, from January to May, 15 cats disappeared in one courtyard alone: many of them were strangled by dogs, I was finding their corpses and buried them.
Our state does not care about homeless cats, this is done by people like me, who do not have much money, they have love and a great desire to help the cats in any way possible. And for this I’m being humiliated, insulted every day, when I nearly have wasted all my health. Now they are turning down Khrushchev blocks of flats and setting up new buildings, where there is not a single path for cats, a cat has nowhere to hide from the dogs there, or from people, for that matter. When will our government finally start thinking about homeless cats. Everybody realizes that where there are no cats, mice and especially rats will start walking openly from flat to flat. I know several houses, where all air-ducts in the basements are walled up: there, rats are walking all over the entrance space from floor to floor.
P.S. The district militia officer Demchuk came once to my flat, and was in a negative mood towards me. He tried to search my flat, insisted that I should tell him where I had taken my dog, although this is none of his business. Nor did he like the way I was looking at him. I mean that this district militia officer is not in a position to settle my problems in a just way, to respond to my petitions. I was walking after him, begging him to help. In my opinion, a district militia officer should be a different person.
July 3, 2005, Signature
Letter 2
To: Autonomous Non-profit Organization
“Charitable Society for the Guardianship of Homeless Animals”
Petition
On July 4, 2005 I visited the District Militia Officer Demchuk at the base militia station. He was very rude and hostile. Demchuk suggested that I should exchange my flat for a house in a village. When I refused outright, he began threatening me that he would evict me from my flat. I wanted to leave the place, but a militiaman who sat beside Demchuk told me that they would draw up a report, saying that I insulted him, and Demchuk would be a witness. Demchuk did not want to return my passport to me, threatening to open a criminal case. Please, look into my petition. He himself composed the explanatory note. Falsifying my replies. I told him I would not sign such a paper.
July 4, 2005, Signature
*****
Three Petitions from a Lady-dweller of Moscow South-Western Administrative District
Petition 1
To: Autonomous Non-profit Organization
“Charitable Society for the Guardianship of Homeless Animals”,
Moscow
A small family of homeless cats have been living in the basement of out building for the last 15 years. I’ve been feeding and taking care of them with the aid of other residents. Before the cats arrived, the house had been infested with mice, while rats had been running undisturbed around the refuse chute and over the lawns. The cats cleared the place fundamentally.
In connection with the commencement of a program for humane keeping of homeless animals. Instituted by Moscow Government, I applied in the autumn of last year to the Fauna Section of Moscow Mayor’s Office, requesting to help with inoculations and sterilization of our cats.
I gratefully note that such work was carried out.
During this April, cats began to disappear one after another. After a while, they began crawling out from the basement, hardly alive, unable to eat or drink. Finally, they vanished altogether. Undoubtedly, this was a case of severe poisoning. The three cats that survived apparently will vanish similarly.
One can feel a strong smell of poison of the type of Trichlorfon or dichlorvos, emanating from the basement. There are no mice or rats in the basement, so there is nobody to poison there, except the cats.
Please, take action towards stopping this atrocity. Such “measures” can only be taken by absolutely immoral and cruel people.
Sincerely yours,
21.04.03, Signature
Petition 2
To: Director of Autonomous Non-profit Organization
“Charitable Society for the Guardianship of Homeless Animals”
E.A. Ilyinsky
As you know, for more than 10 years there have been living homeless cats in the basement of our house; the cats were abandoned by the residents of our house a while ago. You took measure towards neutering the cats and inoculating them against the rabies disease. I’ve been a guardian of these cats, feeding them at my meager pension. I do this very neatly, not leaving any food waste or refuse at the feeding point. The cats are clean, gentle, only three of them are left now. Many residents of the house are grateful to me, because the house is provided with a refuse chute and nearby the entrance there stand two garbage bins, and still we have neither mice, nor rats.
A man by the name of Sergei moved in Flat No 6 recently. Since then, he has been badgering me morally, but on May 9, on the Victory day, he assaulted me physically.
At first, he shouted that the cats allegedly had trampled the grass at his window (imagine the cats, playing the role of cows), that flowers cannot grow because of the cats. Yet, the grass grows as before, the flowers, by the way planted by me – perennial mallows – grow near his window to this day. Every night and even during the daytime, one can see dogs whose owners from the neighboring buildings are walking them out urinating at his window. At night, there is a pack of stray dogs running on the lawn at his window. However, he never criticized the dog owners, being afraid that the owners might smash his windows. Instead, the poor cats become the targets for cobblestones. Sergei has also taught his stepson, a 17-year old lanky fellow and his friends to be cruel.
On May 9, after the salute, I went out to feed my charges. Sergei rushed out of the entrance and started insulting me, and when I entered the house, he grabbed me by the shoulders, said: “While there’s no one around, I’ll give you a good beating”, and began hammering my head against a stone wall. The next day derision was continued. The man stamped on and threw about the cat’s feed, threw cobblestones at the cats. Besides, he hurled abuse at other residents of the house who happened to be nearby. I filed a petition to the chief of the local militia precinct. Please, help by taking all possible measures and protect me and my charges against the acts of derision on the part of the aforesaid subject.
Sincerely,
Signature, 30.05.2004
Petition 3
To: Evgeny and Svetlana Ilyinskys,
Autonomous Non-profit Organization
“Charitable Society for the Guardianship of Homeless Animals”
I wish to record in this short petition of mine what happened to my cats over the past year. This has been roughly the length of time during which we did not speak over telephone. All my cats died. The only cat that survived is the one that you and Svetlana Frolova had pulled out of the pipe. There is still a mark of burning on the cat’s side, left by weldin, when the welders were cutting the pipe. I’m tired of explaining to everybody that this mark is no lichen. How my cats died nobody knows. Several times, I managed to find their corpses. For example, yesterday, I found the corpse of my last but one cat with a fractured scull. This is already the second case of this nature.
Sincerely,
Signature, 30.06.2005
*****
Letter from a Lady-dweller of Moscow South-western Administrative District
To: Diredtor of Autonomous Non-profit Organization
“Charitable Society for the Guardianship of Homeless Animals”
E.A.Ilyinsky
Dear Evgeny Anatolievich!
I am a lone pensioner, I’ve been a guardian of homeless cats for the last few years. I use my meager means to feed, treat and sterilize the animals. I have sterilized a lot of cats in the hope that their number will be contained. Yet people keep throwing them out into the street, throwing in kittens. All this causes me moral and material damage.
All this time, I’ve been witness to cruel treatment of animals: they are thrown out into the refuse chute, hung, are torn to pieces by stray dogs. Some dog owners deliberately set their beloved pets at the cats, releasing them from a lead. All this causes unbearable suffering and bitter emotional experience. I’ve simply turned into an ailing person. It’s not only the animals that suffer, but normal people, who cannot stay away being indifferent to what is going on.
Our government does not deal with the problem of homeless animals. Animal shelters must be set up, there must be more TV and radio programs devoted to animals; laws must be issued on the strength of which people could be made responsible for cruel treatment of animals; such laws must be harsh.
Yes, we have many homeless, hapless people in this country, but this is not the fault of animals. Again, it’s us, the people, who are responsible for this state of affairs. Moreover, the problems of homeless hapless people and animals must only be handled simultaneously, not one after another.
Nothing is being done in this area inn this country.
My indignation is too great for words.
Ð.S. I keep 6 picked up hapless cats at home (nearly all of them are disabled).
09.07.04, Signature
*****
Letter from a Lady-dweller of Moscow Northern Administrative District
To: Director of Autonomous Non-profit Organization
“Charitable Society for the Guardianship of Homeless Animals”
E.A.Ilyinsky
Petition
For the last 2.5 years, I’ve been working at a shelter for homeless animals, being paid now in kind, next time with minimum money. I used to keep cats at home, but eventually they grew in number. I would bring home an ailing cat, once freezing, or a kitten freezing, or children humiliated me, etc. There appeared a stench in the flat. My neighbors began boycotting me (insulted, did not greet me, at times, dared physical assaults). Then, they began threatening me: you will be murdered; you will be taken away as a slave; once, you will come home only to find the flat door flung open and all of your cats dead; we’ll fill your flat with gas through a keyhole, etc. After the threats stopped, the neighbors passed on to actions: the tore the cable leading to my flat, then they filled two locks with a liquid glass, therefore, I had to call the emergency rescue service and later install at least one lock, for I had no money for two locks. My neighbor who is an aide to a deputy and has long been dreaming about my flat, began threatening me with violence.
I had to make arrangements with a good business woman and take my cats to an 188 sq. m. room, where I live together with them for my personal money. On that very day, I had a phone call from Mr. T.I. Povolotsky, who threatened me that unless I removed my cats from the flat, the cats would be removed forcibly and would be destroyed, and I would be taken to Belye Stolby (a psychiatric clinic) for examination. He did not know that I had moved my cats already. He spoke to me at the top of his voice, I responded by saying that he should speak to me in a normal tone, in response, I only heard scolding and shouting.
March 18, 2004, Signature
*****
Letter from a Lady-dweller of Moscow Sothern Administrative District
To: Director of Charitable Society
for the Guardianship of Homeless Animals
Mr. Ilyinsky
Petition
Our family of 3 disabled persons are fond of and pity the animals; unfortunately, very often the animals become homeless, abandoned in the street by callous people. We cannot pass by an ailing or small creature. As time went on, we have turned our flat into a shelter for 7 dogs and 8 cats; we are fond of them all, we feed and treat the animals with our small pensions, and using whatever money we can get by working on the side. The treatment is costly, our animals are treated without any discounts, therefore we have to make debts. The food is also our responsibility. In this connection, we often have debts for flat and communal services payments. Every now and then we have representatives of the authorities as visitors, who threaten to evict us form the flat, giving as the reason that under the communal services law we allegedly use the flat improperly and delay the payments for flat and communal services. We comply with the health standards, seeking to keep the animals and the flat tidy and clean. On more than one occasion, the lady chairman of our house board visited us saying that we do not have any papers proving our right to keep so many animals in the flat. Part of our animals are on a plot in a god-forsaken village not far from our apartment house. This is very convenient, as we do not have transportation of our own.
Regretfully, we do not have any lawful ground for keeping animals there or set up anything on that plot.
It follows from the foregoing that people who try to do their best to help animals are not protected by law and get no assistance from the state.
August 9, 2005, Signature
*****
Two Letters from a Lady-dweller of Moscow Eastern Administrative District
Letter 1
To: President of the “Charitable Society
for the Guardianship of Homeless Animals”
Mr. E.A.Ilyinsky
I suppose, everybody knows that in Russia there is a rescue service for the people. All want to be rescued and live serenely and carelessly. However, one should remember that God gave Man Brains to help the weak and defenseless. And such creatures are our neighbors on this planet: the animals, especially those domesticated – cats and dogs. It’s a shame that in our homeland there is no animal rescue service, the animals being particularly in need of such service. We are in quest of extraterrestrial civilizations and at the same time are callous towards those who live side by side with us, as if this were a living garbage.
I know how many abandoned animals feel anguish and suffer in silence, and die of our being so callous and cruel. The dog federations and cat clubs are only concerned about business, the plight of animals does not interest them. I have a card index of lost-and-found animals, in which one can encounter pedigree-stock cats and dogs.
People do not neuter their pets, thereby giving the “black business” a chance to flourish – people who promise for handsome money to find “loving hands” for kittens, puppets or grown-up individuals. Not all such animals are accommodated: many end in the basements or at the nearest cemeteries in the wood, even in winter, where they freeze stiff.
Luckily, there are still some noble-minded people in Moscow, largely, pensioners and disabled. Who, out of sheer enthusiasm, rescue these credulous and defenseless small animals. Many have set up the so-called private shelters in their flats, where all animals are starving, with nobody to help them, on the contrary, more animals are thrown in.
One is under the impression that our people are devoid of the Soul, intellect and imagination: they are unable to visualize themselves as a stray dog or a homeless cat, since, unfortunately, there is no propaganda of mercy and kindness carried out by the Authorities or Religion.
Ð.S. Personally, for 10 years I’ve been saving dogs and cats, 100 individuals per annum, on the average. I take them home (to my flat), treat them, feed and find reliable owners for them. My flat, where at any time there live as many as 10 animals, has appropriate specific smells. For the good of the animals, I have sacrificed my family, the husband already lives separately.
The most selfless people have turned out to be outcasts in this country. This is shameful to Russia. I do hope our small brethren will have a decent life in my country.
Sincerely,
Signature, 04.06.04
Letter 2
I’m on the verge of shouting: “Hey, you, people! It’s not me or others like me who are at fault for packs of stray dogs and homeless cats roaming the streets, we do not proliferate infection”, Nay, it’s you, you who throw out your pet dog or pet cat into the street, thereby giving your children three lessons at a time: 1. a lesson of irresponsibility, 2. lesson of perfidy, 3. lesson of cruelty. All this will come back to you afterwards. An abandoned animal, not adapted to living in the street, accustomed to warmth, falls ill quickly: this is a source of infection. Therefore, it’s not me or the likes of me who should be fought: as far as we can, using our feeble strength, we are trying to mitigate the suffering of a creature devoted to you, but one must struggle with your cruelty, spiritual mediocrity ".
Remember all this, when your own children all of a sudden will make up their minds to get rid of you, when you come of age and become feeble, when you are sent to a “hostel for the aged”, a cloister of grief. Remember this, when some of the young, your relatives or acquaintances should abandon their child, sending him to a children’s home. At best. A worse situation is possible, too. Come to think of it, there are more orphans at children’s houses now than there used to be after the war. And the parents are alive. Cruelty is flourishing. And it all begins with a stone thrown at a cat or dog by a child, with a kitten or puppy thrown out into the street and doomed to suffering. If your soul and the soul of your child does not ache, you are sure to reap the fruit of your cruelty: sooner or later.
07.09.04, Signature
*****
Letter from Kaliningrad
I live in Kaliningrad. A harp-player, a soloist of Kaliningrad Philarmonic Scociety and symphony orchestra, I keep 10 cats in my flat. Many of these I picked up in the street. The animals are healthy, well-groomed, inoculated, each one has a certificate.
Kaliningrad Municipal Council of Deputies passed a decision on 26.01.2005, approving the “Provisional Regulations of Keeping” the animals on the territory of the city. One of the clauses of the Regulations reads that “the number of animals kept in a flat of an apartment house should not exceed two grown up individuals”. Prior to the adoption of the current new Regulations, it was allowed to keep an unlimited number of domestic animals in a flat. At present, the law-and-order authorities are entitled to make persons, keeping more than two domestic animals, answerable in terms of administrative liability, as per Article 52 of the Kaliningrad Oblast Code. The new Regulations say, that all neglected and lost animals should be placed in an animal shelter. There is no such shelter in Kaliningrad. True, a crematorium is being built for burning the corpses of animals. I am a ”victim” of the said new Regulations issued by our deputies. An inspector of OM BPP RIAZ of the department of the Interior of Kaliningrad filed a report against me. I was summoned to an administrative commission, which fined me charging Rbls. 100.
The commission members suggested that I should get rid of excess animals by sending these to a mobile gas chamber or throwing them out into the street.
And now I live, fearing for my pets.
May 20, 2005.
|
Return to table of contents
Return to main page
|
Center for Animal Welfare Legal Protection 
