English section

Сharity action of EGIDA «To be good!» 2013 in Minsk (32 photo)

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 02:04:28 GMT

The first action «Be good!» took place in 2009, and the instigators of these particular stocks were little boy Seva and his mom Marina Dobrianskaya that in an interview said: «I want my son to grow up good.» The main objective of the action - education people positive, good feelings toward our younger brothers, to draw attention to the problem of stray animals in Belarus, families search for homeless animals...

Reply to the open letter addressed to Mayor of Minsk was called "a spit in the public’s face"

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 00:08:01 GMT

On September 16, 2010 Public Association for Animal Protection «EGIDA» sent an open letter to the Chairman of Minsk City Executive Committee N.A. Ladutko with a reminder, that the Head of Presidential Administration V.V. Makey gave clear instructions to the mayor of Minsk “to work out mutually acceptable modalities of cooperation between the state and public organizations on the issues...

Open Letter to Mayor of Minsk N.A. Ladutko

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:16:15 GMT

On September 16, 2010 Chairman of Public Association for Animal Protection «EGIDA» N.A. Belianova submitted a letter to Minsk City Executive Committee addressed to N.A. Ladutko with a request to fix another appointment with the city’s mayor in order to seek mutually acceptable ways of solving the problem of stray animals in Minsk. While the city’s authorities believe that Minsk Municipal Enterprise...

Meeting in Ministry of Agriculture and Food

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:25:42 GMT

At 15-00 on February 25, 2010 a meeting took place at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The meeting took place due to the fact that representatives of Public Association for Animal Protection «Egida» visited Minister of Agriculture and Food S.B. Shapiro on December 2, 2009. On January 15, 2010 Public Association for Animal Protection «Egida» submitted a 15-page proposal pleading to keep...

Punishment for Cruel Disposal of Cats

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:06:29 GMT

Leninsky District Court in Minsk sentenced the Director of Housing and Utilities Administration № 82, Elena Makhnitskaya, to a two-day administrative arrest for abusive handling of animals. On August 5, 2009 workers of Housing and Utilities Administration № 82 immured cats and kittens in the basement of house № 12 in Rokossovskogo Avenue, Minsk. One of the kittens died. Animal protectors submitted an application to Leninsky District Administration, appealing for an administrative procedure (Clause 15.45 of Administrative Offences Code of the...

Volunteers of "Fauna Goroda" cry for help

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:01:51 GMT

Volunteers of Minsk Municipal Temporary Shelter for Animals "Fauna Goroda" approached mass media with an open letter, in which they appeal to general public to render assistance in settling the current state of affairs at the enterprise. The proclamation was signed by more than eleven hundred people. As the proclamation puts it, the "critical" situation at "Fauna Goroda" took shape after the new director Alexander Tamashevsky entered into service on January 19. "The arrival of the new director put paid to all animal protection activities, volunteer...

Life-and-Death War at the Temporary Shelter

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:03:03 GMT

Those who have at least once visited the temporary shelter «Fauna Goroda», located in Gurskogo Str., will never forget their visit. It seems that no person that has seen the eyes of the animals, full of despair and hope, will be left untouched. But it has turned out that there is such a person, and the irony of it is that he is the director of the temporary shelter. A brief lead-in: since the new director of Municipal Animal Control Organization «Fauna Goroda» А.V. Tamashevsky entered the office on January 19, 2009, volunteers have been sending letters to...

Fearful Vengeance. "Fauna Goroda" Proclaims War against Volunteers

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 20:02:24 GMT

In retaliation for the criticism aired in «X-Zone» programme (click to watch), the director of «Fauna Goroda» gave instructions to euthanize the pets patronized by volunteers. Animal protectors are once again appealing to Minsk citizens with a request to save the remaining animals. «Е», just like many other editions, has already raised the problems facing Minsk enterprise «Fauna Goroda» with the arrival of the new director. The deplorable situation, which was earlier associated with capturing and keeping stray and lost animals...

Death Conveyor?

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 21:01:19 GMT

The changes introduced by the new administration of the organization which deals with capturing and keeping stray animals are becoming more and more frightening. «Е» has already written about the threat which was looming over the inmates of «Fauna Goroda» last week. As it transpired, it was only the first sign of the approaching disaster. First, the dogs that had been sterilized and needed special care were shifted to the cold outdoor cages. Then, the new director flatly prohibited sterilization of the inmates at «Fauna Goroda», even if carried out...

TV Programme: "X-Zone" about "Fauna Goroda"

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 23:22:46 GMT

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...

Fascists are trooping across Belarusian land… Episode 3

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:40:16 GMT

The Village of Yazyl. Starodorozhsky District.
Public Association for Animal Protection “EGIDA” received a phone call from Nataliya Dmitrievna Kurulyova. She phoned and told us about the massacre of dogs in the Village of Yazyl. Nataliya moved from the Capital City of Minsk to the country hoping to find some “peace and quiet” there. They bought a solid house, started to settle down…

Fascists are trooping across Belarusian land… Episode 2

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:53:34 GMT

MOGILYOV. Mogilyov public utility company is located at 58А Gomelskaya Rd., the City of Mogilyov. Recently this company has started to admit volunteers, who have only one burning desire: to help captured animals and rescue them. But it is difficult for those individuals who have always treated animals like garbage and dropped it (i.e. this “garbage”) at dump sites for future disposal… to turn into...

Petition for the stray animals in Belarus

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 02:33:10 GMT

The objective of this petition: to support the creation of the legislation (currently non-existent in Bielorussia) concerning the protection of the stray pets. To create refuges whose three principal activities are: taking care of the abandoned animals, their sterilization and organisation o the adoption system. To avoid the euthanasia (easy and not very honourable solution) in first intention, to replace it by the...

Choose a friend!

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:00:38 GMT

Minsk municipal executive committee prohibits the action!

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:19:09 GMT

December 10 - International Animal Rights Day. Minsk municipal executive committee refused carrying out action. November 9, 2009 Public Association for Animal Protection "EGIDA" sent a letter to Minsk municipal executive committee asking for permission to hold an action dedicated to International Animal Rights Day in several parts of the city on December 12. That day in four parts of the city...

Stray animals in Belarus. Give us an animal asylum! Documentary film.

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:22:34 GMT

In January 2009 a top-level decision was made to change the policy and, consequently, to replace the leaders of Fauna Goroda. The Director, Oleg Harkevich, was the first to be dismissed. Vladimir Reentovich appointed his friend, the notorious Alexandr Tamashevsky, to fill in this position. Work aimed at destroying all animal protection activities began, gradually turning Fauna Goroda into a closed shop...

The story of Belarusian citizens pleading President to STOP the cruel

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:12:14 GMT

The vast majority of Belarusian citizens put up with the existing system of stray animal management and non-stop killings of homeless animals. This is particularly true with the dwellers of small Belarusian towns and settlements. In the meantime, the catching and killing of stray animals and lack of animal welfare laws as well as animal shelters in the country is a very sensitive issue for metropolitan dwellers...

Fascists are trooping across Belarusian land…

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 02:38:22 GMT

In the memory of all stray animals killed and tortured on the territory of Belarus in the 21st century. The 21st century. The centre of Europe. We endlessly admire our clean towns and cities, another Wonder of the World – the National Library of the Republic of Belarus, breathtaking stadiums, ever-growing possibilities for Belarusians… If you drive a couple of kilometers off Minsk though, you will witness...

Story about virus diseases at "Fauna city"

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:09:51 GMT

This report documents how dogs and cats which were absolutely healthy before they were caught and brought to "Fauna city" catch infectious diseases and why dogs kept by "Fauna city" are killed after first sneezing. Let us in the beginning introduce Mrs Natalya Belanova and explain what "Fauna city" is. Natalya Belanova has been the chairman of the animal protection organisation "Egida" of Minsk since 2006. In 2007 a new administrative entity, "Fauna city", was established by the Minsk authorities as «institution for collecting and exterminating...

Attitude of Belarussian officials towards stray animals

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 21:10:36 GMT

Belarussian public associations for the protection of animals are hereby seeking support from the European Parliament. For many years have we been trying to make Belarus' officials understand that the current conditions for keeping pet cats and dogs, their breeding, catching, and elimination are unacceptable for a country located in the centre of Europe. There are highly educated people in Belarus for whom animal cruelty supported by government is a source of continuous moral suffering. Belarus has no government tools for control over the...

What is it all about

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:19:31 GMT

Geographically, Belarus is located in the heart of Europe and shares borders with Poland to the West, Ukraine to the South, Russia to the East and North and the Baltic States to the Northwest, which makes it the closest neighbour of the European Union. The surprising thing is that very little is known to those in the EU about the critical welfare situation of pet animals. For more than 15 years animal rights...

What EGIDA proposes

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:18:40 GMT

The public organisation of the Protection of Animals rights «EGIDA» is submitting proposals to all Government entities in order to change the legislation. They propose the introduction of the program, which exists in all European countries: Adoption of regulations that limit the reproduction of animals (controlling dog population without causing unnecessary or avoidable animal suffering)...

Bio-ethical education in Belarus

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:03:28 GMT

There is a National Committee on Bioethics in Belarus. What a grand title! In reality this committee is a commission inside the Ministry of Health. The members of this committee are employees of the ministry designated by order of the minister. These people are mainly concerned about health of people than the humane treatment of animals. For them it is apparently not a problem if 20, 40 or 100 dogs die for obtaining scientific results in drug-tests or for writing a PhD paper. This committee is not a legal person and it doesn't have a statute of its own...

Story about vivarium. Experimental dogs need your help

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:05:15 GMT

When you are sick, when you have pain somewhere, you take a pill or other kind of medicine and the pain leaves you. But does the pain leave the dogs that this medicine was tested on? Did you ever think of this? I will answer for all of us: "No, we didn't!" Why? In Belarus there a lof of reasons. The first and the main reason is that since quite a long time an indifferent, and often cruel, attitude towards animas was formed in this country. This was caused by the absence of the legislation protecting the animals from the cruel treatment.

Story about catching dogs in Minsk district

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:08:31 GMT

There is no shelter for animals in any town of Belarus. There are only few drop-off stations for dogs and cats caught or brought by owners in our country. These institutions are obliged to keep the animals for at least 5 days in order to find new owners. If no new owner is found the animals are killed. The killing has to be done by a veterinarian in the most humane way. According procedures are established by the «Rules on operating of the organization dealing with capture, shooting, maintenance and euthanasia of stray animals».

Confessions of a Volunteer: The Task of Special Importance

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:05:31 GMT

This is a story telling why we (i.e. volunteers taking care of dogs) decided to leave… Or, to be more exact, how we were made to leave. Little by little, bit by bit… It should be mentioned straight away that we did realize what our municipal temporary shelter for animals was like. We were fully aware of the fact it was not an ASYLUM. The irony is that it is they (not us) who advertised the temporary shelter as an asylum – both in printed media and on TV. It is they (not us) who claimed that only sick animals were euthanized, not animals exceeding the period...

Overview of the situation of treating stray animals in Belarus

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:04:11 GMT

By pet animal is meant any animal kept or intended to be kept by man in particular in his household for private enjoyment and companionship." European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals Chapter I - General provisions Geographically, Belarus is located in the heart of Europe and shares borders with Poland to the West, Ukraine to the South, Russia to the East and North and the Baltic States to the Northwest, which makes it the closest neighbour of the European Union. The surprising thing is that very little is known to those in the EU...

Story about immured cats

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:07:52 GMT

Some methods that public services of Belarus use to combat fleas in the basements of apartment blocks and the way the sanitary regulations for fighting fleas affect the lives of cats and their owners.
Belarus has no law against owners who throw their cats into the streets. Neither has it animal shelters which would accept cats surrendered by owners for some reason. Instead, Belarus has tough sanitary regulations relating to the areas where homeless cats live. These sanitary regulations prescribe no homeless cats to be kept in the basements...

Letter from EGIDA to the European institutions

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:07:09 GMT

Dear Sirs!
On the threshold of International Animal Rights Day, we - citizens of Republic of Belarus - ask you for support.
Realize that people and animals relation is a serious socio-ecological problem, which is in particular moral importance, and declare town inhabited animals as important and essential part of urban fauna and biological variety, we state that on the territory of Republic of Belarus: - near 70 000 homeless animals are killed annually, in the...