A dog hunter is a person who sincerely believes that by killing dogs he saves the world and does a good deed. But, if you delve into the history of the creation of the movement and understand the essence of ideology, it turns out that there are not enough good intentions there.
The word "dog hunter" itself is literally translated from English, like a dog exterminator, dog hunter. The movement itself was formed not so long ago, but the number of community members is growing rapidly, not only on the scale of a single country, but also on a global level. Dog hunters also have opponents, but thanks to the peculiarities of their activity and ideology, it is very difficult to prevent them from killing animals. The situation is further complicated by the fact that dog hunters have passive accomplices - those who approve of their activities, hide facts and support them informationally, morally and even financially.
How the movement of dog hunters was created
In which country and in which year the dog-hunter movement arose, has not been established for certain. It is believed that its origins in Russia, it began in 2006-2008, but the European media described the facts characteristic of the activities of the doghantras, and much earlier - in 2001-2003. Unfortunately, it is in Russia that the movement is developing especially actively and receives strong support from ordinary citizens.
Proponents of cleaning populated areas of any scale from stray animals are not stopped by the threat of criminal responsibility for their activities, condemnation by the public and animal rights activists, and the very cruelty of their actions. The movement pays special attention not only to law enforcement agencies, psychologists have become interested in it. A psychological portrait of a typical dog hunter was even compiled:
- person over the age of 30,
- income level - medium and higher,
- with a tendency to violence hidden behind cultural barriers,
- with a lack of emotional communication, more often - lonely.
As a rule, a dog hunter who is actively involved in the movement was once attacked by a pack of stray dogs, or someone close to him was injured. It is noteworthy that even opponents of the movement consider the authorities of the municipal or federal level to blame for its development, who did not provide decent protection from street animals.
The essence of the ideology of doghunters
Doghunters are one of the largest organizations of an informal type, not recognized by law, having not only their own strong ideology, but also a code. It states that a person must live in a safe environment and has the right to make it such by any means available. According to the code of dog hunters, the main danger is homeless, uncontrolled packs of dogs, breeding or not breeding, aggressive (attackers) or harmless, which pose a threat to human life and health.
Doghunters are convinced that the authorities are not able to provide for the capture of dogs, that their keeping in kennels, outposts, sterilization is unprofitable and useless, and the only way out of the situation is to exterminate them.
The activity of dog hunters, in fact, should be directed precisely against homeless animals, but they do not consider it necessary to take care that the dogs that have owners are not victims. They do not explain the death of such animals and consider such facts to be a kind of “cost” of their activities.
Law Against Doghunters
In the Russian Federation, legislation does not allow cruelty to either humans or animals. The movement of dog hunters in Russia is illegal, subject to criminal and administrative penalties. If we consider it in the legal field, then it is considered one of the types of propaganda for violence and a negative impact on public consciousness.
The fact is that doghunters do not just kill stray dogs, but also create online communities, forums on which
- are actively promoting their ideology and activities,
- upload videos with appeals to citizens and calls for murder, scenes of killing dogs, guides on how to exterminate animals,
- recruiting adherents among young people.
Against the background of increasing popularity of dog hunters, the intensification of their activities, the emergence of new organizations among young people, the increase in cases of not just murder, but cruelty to animals, the government changed several articles of the criminal and administrative legislation, and adopted several new ones.
Until 2015, doghunters carried only administrative punishment for their actions. In 2017, amendments were made to the legislation, according to which a person who killed or tortured an animal can be sentenced to up to 2 years in a penal colony with general or strict regime.
How do doghunters work
Doghunters, unlike flayers, resort, in their opinion, to the humane extermination of stray dogs by poisoning. However, it is impossible to call their actions humane, since they use drugs that cause suffering to animals:
- anti-tuberculosis medicine, causing a painful death for the dog,
- antiemetic drugs that paralyze the respiratory system of animals,
- homeopathic remedy from the category of cardiac glycosides, killing a dog for a week and a half,
- plant alkaloids with instant action,
- pesticides designed to kill rodents that paralyze all the dog’s body systems.
The poison is carefully masked by dog hunters in the so-called bookmarks - sausage, sausages, minced meat or meat fillet, that is, in which not only a homeless, hungry dog, but also a pet will not pass. Bookmarks are made small (from 2 cm in section) so that the dog is guaranteed to eat it and the poison enters the body. They are laid out not only in the habitats of stray dogs, but also in porches, on playgrounds, where pets are often walked, and where (even worse) children play.
How is the fight against doghunters
Doghunters are not hooligans from the alley, but a community of smart people, as a rule, with high self-esteem, ambitions and deep knowledge of jurisprudence. They are well acquainted with the norms of legislation aimed at combating them and with the aspects of law that they can use to protect themselves.
Open actions against them can turn into troubles for animal defenders and opponents of measures used by dog hunters to exterminate stray dogs. On the forums of opponents of this movement, you can find a whole list of actions that can not be taken in the fight against doghunters. Unacceptable and illegal
- damage to personal property of a doghunter - cars, apartments, clothes,
- humiliation and insult of a member of a community,
- causing harm to health and deprivation of life.
In addition, the dismissal of a dog hunter, his “persecution” by the team is not recommended, even if their involvement in the murder of an animal has been proven. Representatives of the community, as a rule, use all these facts later as arguments in their favor, if it comes to legal proceedings, and even sometimes receive material compensation for such actions against them.
Measures to combat doghunters may include contacting the police or prosecutors, drawing public attention to the facts of dog poisoning, informational anti-propaganda of doghunting, disclosing personal data of community members, although such an act can be interpreted as a reservation or slander.
