Sir: Most of us are excited by Russia’s Sochi Winter Olympics, which began last week. We’re proud of our Canadian athletes.
But are we proud of the lengths Russia is going to entertain the crowds?
I was shocked when I saw a release from the Born Free Foundation about killer whales, which are actually members of the dolphin family, being cruelly snared by hunters to be displayed at the Sochi Winter Olympics.
These mammals can grow up to 22 feet in length and swim 100 miles a day. They’re born to be free. But their Russian home is a small concrete tank in a so-called Sochi Dolphinarium, where they were dumped after a 4,614-mile flight from the far east of Russia.
A release from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation said, “It’s a sad day for Russia, a sad thing for the Olympics and a very sad situation for two orcas who now will be flying across seven time zones to spend the rest of their lives in captivity.”
It’s strange none of the media have made a fuss about this. It’s not unexpected because the average Russian cares little for animals. There is no Russian animal welfare legislation that I know of. Neither is there a culture of sterilizing, vaccinating or de-worming pets. Pet breeding is not regulated, which, of course, causes overpopulation and disease.
As a result, tens of thousands of cats and dogs are abandoned every year in Russia and die of hunger, illness, cruelty and severe weather conditions. Stray animals are treated like vermin or rubbish. There are mass killings of dogs by poisoning or other horrific methods by local authorities and so-called dog hunters.
Thousands of dogs suffer and die from neglect and cruelty in municipal shelters in Moscow and other large cities in Russia. The system is badly structured and corrupt, run by people who care little about animal welfare and treat dogs as a commodity.
Thousands of cats are sealed and left to die from thirst, starvation and lack of air in the basements of apartment blocks. This is the result of bad local laws.
I admit there are a few private shelters for strays. There are also volunteer groups that help dogs in municipal shelters. But there’s not enough of them and they are severely underfunded.
In Russian zoos, animals suffer terribly in confined environments, living lonely lives in tiny concrete prisons.
Wild animals are still used for public entertainment in circuses and other places where I understand they are tortured in order to make them perform tricks. When not on stage, these animals are kept in small cages.
When we see stories about Sochi’s Winter Olympics in the media, let’s remember the animals that have been so poorly treated.
Stephen J. Beecroft
Chatham
