European animal welfare advocates planning to seek closure of Kyiv Zoo
Kyiv, November 12 (Interfax-Ukraine) – European animal welfare advocates are planning soon to ask the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) to push for the closure of Kyiv Zoo.
"I will propose that the EAZA leadership call for the closure of Kyiv Zoo... We [the European animal welfare advocates] consider this zoo as a prison for innocent animals, and we believe that it is better to close it. Such conditions do not meet European standards," President of the Naturewatch Foundation John Ruane said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday.
He drew attention to the fact that the authorities of the Ukrainian capital had not given practical consideration to the issues of keeping zoo animals and that they were not planning to resolve the problem of stray animals in a humane manner.
"Yesterday [on November 10] we met with Mr. Holubchenko [Deputy Head of Kyiv City State Administration Anatoliy Holubchenko] and management representatives dealing with the issues of stray animals. We drew attention to the fact that the authorities either did not understand anything about or did not want to resolve the problem," Ruane said.
He also said that late on November 10 he had received videotapes from various regions in Ukraine, mainly from the east, documenting cases of the poisoning of stray animals and pets.
"Upon returning to England, we will create a Web site that will show this awful video," Ruane said.
He also noted that cases in the country linked to the illegal killing of animals, in particular, through poisoning with an unidentified poison, should be considered "at the highest level."
The president of the Tierhilfwerk animal protection association, Christian Janatsch, in turn, expressed regret that there had been few achievements over the 14 years of their work in the fight for animal rights in Ukraine.
"We only ensured the closure of a knackery in Pyrohove (Kyiv region) and the appearance there of a shelter for homeless animals under [former Kyiv] Mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko," he said, adding that the Kyiv authorities then only "made promises, but the result is zero."
President of the Kyiv Society for the Protection of Animals "SOS" Tamara Tarnawska predicted that the situation with the ruthless destruction of stray animals would only worsen ahead of the Euro 2012 European Football Championship.
During the press conference, journalists were shown a several scenes from the video showing dogs killed by an unidentified poison.