Russia: Bears to be used to train hunting dogs

Within the hunting dog training camps, an abject, daily drama takes place. Bears, foxes, martens and badgers are captured and fed to Laïka dogs trained for hunting during competitions. These animals live are atrocious. They are confined in cages without shelter, trampling in their droppings, fed with pieces of bread. Suffering is imposed on them for months and months, for years, even for the most resistant, and when they are considered too worn out, hunters kill and eat them.

During the competitions, the bears are tied by the neck, they cannot flee. They suffer the repeated assaults of several dogs biting them without respite. The more the dog bites, the more points he gets. The show is gruesome. Bears try to get rid of their shackles, and when too weak, they refuse to face the dogs, humans pull them by the neck, or hit them with a stick, so that they straighten up.

Since our investigation, we have asked for the prohibition of these barbaric activities, from another era. The bill aimed at banning this appalling practice has just been rejected by the Russian parliament. The country's conservatives proudly make it the symbol of the cultural difference between Western and Eastern countries. All hope, however, is not lost: this legislation can be enforced by the Russian head of state. We cannot remain silent in the face of so much barbarity!

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