Item: About Municipal Animal Control Organization “Fauna Goroda”.

Lead-in: In “X-Zone” Programme scheduled May 29, 2009, the First National Channel unveils the nightmare of inhuman treatment of animals and volunteers at Municipal Temporary Shelter “Fauna Goroda”.

The big-name reporter Mikhail Tristen was brave enough to tell the shocking story about the “production of dead bodies”. Despite the fact that this TV item lasted for five minutes only, Minsk citizens learned a lot about their Municipal Animal Control Organization and Temporary Shelter “Fauna Goroda”. Everyone saw the “mover and shaker” of “Fauna Goroda” A.V. Tamashevsky, whose entry into service entailed the elimination of the volunteer movement, expulsion of animal protectors, dismissal of lawyers, administrators, veterinary assistants and many other employees taking care of the animals. Mass euthanasia of animals began…

News presenter:
Another scandal has started in connection with Minsk Municipal Animal Control Organization “Fauna Goroda”. Let me remind you that this organization’s task is to capture stray animals in the capital city. Rumors about violations, indifference and barbarities that are believed to take place at “Fauna Goroda” regularly circulate around the city. Animal protectors claim that it is hard to find another municipal organization where the pages of “Recommendations and Concerns” book are filled with notes to THAT extent. Besides, the administration of “Fauna Goroda” has been changed recently, and practically all the animal protectors “got the chuck”. Now it is hard for them to find out what is going on in this organization. Apart from this, many of the volunteers, who help cats and dogs at their own expense, have become redundant. Not once has the new director emphasized that “Fauna Goroda” is a “hazardous production facility”. Our reporter Mikhail Tristen has found out, what is being produced at this enterprise.

Reporter:
One would not envy this dog. Within its short lifetime, Danya has been unlucky enough to find itself at the notorious “Fauna Goroda” and later get acquainted with unprincipled vets. During the sterilization operation, the vets accidentally left a ball of thread inside the dog’s body. One more operation was required.
Now Danya is out of danger. Not only did the kind new owners rescue the dog from “Fauna Goroda”, but also readily paid for the operation. The dog is getting better.
Nevertheless, those dogs that get captured with the catchers’ net can find themselves in a situation which is much worse than Danya’s…
It appears that soon there will be no one to protect the pets and rescue them from “Fauna Goroda” (located in Gurskogo Street) any more. Animal protection activities are being curtailed at “Fauna Goroda”. The other day Deputy Director for Animal Protection Nataliya Belianova handed in the notice.

Nataliya Belianova:
Once in office, the new director introduced a lot of changes… He demonstrated lack of respect towards the volunteers’ work. When Executive Director of Municipal Housing Maintenance and Utilities Board V. Reentovich came, he unashamedly declared that general public should “keep at a distance”.

Reporter:
Nataliya Belianova says that the new director has also limited the scope of social advertising. Encouraging people to adopt a dog or a cat that is to be euthanized has become out of place. But now the organization sells animals for laboratory experiments.

Nataliya Belianova:
Nowadays, each animal is at risk. Even lost domestic pets are running the risk of being picked for experiments at “Fauna”.

Reporter:
Indeed, medical experiments might be necessary, but the employees of “Fauna Goroda” have gravely violated the law. They took the dogs to the medical men in their company’s cars. One haul cost around 140.000 Belarusian rubles. All this was done illegally. The license of “Fauna Goroda” for the transportation of animals expired last year.

Reporter and A.V. Tamashevsky:
–Can I see the license, please?
–Please, leave the room.
–Can I see the license?
–Leave the room!

Reporter:
Likewise, the present director Alexander Tamashevsky failed to explain, why there are so few volunteers left at “Fauna Goroda”. One day, all the things that belonged to the volunteers were thrown out in the street. He said they didn’t need either free workforce or sponsorship any more. The volunteers are allowed to enter “Fauna” only according to special lists, no more than 10 persons a day. Unwanted people, like we, are chucked out.

Volunteer:
I am a former volunteer of “Fauna Goroda”. After “LAD” Channel had been shooting scenes for a TV programme here, the following day my name was for some mysterious reason crossed off the list.

Volunteer:
It’s unbearable to be a volunteer here. You are constantly being under moral pressure. You take care of the dogs, you come here and feed them, you tame them, you spend your own money to treat them, you advertize them. Then, one day you may come to take care of a certain dog and you don’t see that dog anymore. You frantically start looking for it everywhere, rushing from one cage to another, asking where it is. And then you are told that the dog has been picked for medical experiments, or it has been euthanized.

Reporter:
Such appalling things are going on at “Fauna Goroda”. Moreover, Minsk taxpayers’ money is wasted. Few people are aware that 50% of the levy from dog-owners is allocated to this enterprise for capturing and keeping the animals. Animal protectors claim that practically all this money is given away as employees’ salaries. They fail to understand why the present director has many times underlined that “Fauna Goroda” is a production enterprise.

Svetlana Harevich:
That is an extremely interesting issue, because a “production enterprise” presupposes producing something. And this is what “Fauna Goroda” does. Out of live animals it produces dead bodies.

Reporter:
At “Fauna Goroda”, they provided animal protectors with their own version of the story. They made a sensational statement that animal protectors themselves capture dogs and cats throughout Minsk in order to discredit Municipal Animal Control Organization “Fauna Goroda”.

Marina Astreyka:
We don’t know whether these are physical or legal bodies. Hiding behind our name, they capture stray animals. Sometimes they even trap domestic animals. We don’t know where these animals go next. What are the aims of their capturing animals? Do they want to deface our enterprise or do they resell these animals later?

Reporter:
Volunteers are appalled by such accusations. They have specially rented this house to rescue animals that were captured by “Fauna Goroda” and were to have been euthanized. 17 animals are being treated in these four rooms, in order to find new caring owners for them later, and all this is done free of charge. These volunteering students have chipped in together to buy out little puppies from “Fauna Goroda”. The young people have to pay to the enterprise 10.000 Belarusian rubles for each puppy. But the young people hazard all consequences to rescue the puppies.

Volunteer and Reporter:
–If you hadn’t bought the puppies out, what would have happened?
–They would either have been euthanized or would have caught a contagious infection and died anyway.

Mikhail Tristen, Dmitry Loksh, Alexander Shostakovich.
X-Zone. This week’s results.