One of the awaited events, embracing the whole Europe nowadays, is Euro 2012 – football championship, hosted by Poland and Ukraine. On the contrary, one of the awaited events for European animal rights protestors is checking up on how Ukrainian authorities managed to get rid of or reduce a number of homeless dogs and cats. One of the brightest social trends of last months is numerous boycotts and demonstrations, where Europeans appealed to cruelty of Ukrainians and demanded of cancelling Euro in Ukraine.

On June 9th 2012, on the eve of the major sport competition, the second demonstration of Fair Play organization was arranged along Kyiv streets. Due to a small number of activists (nearly 100 people) the strike did not do well, especially in contrast to European boycotts of the last year. The news of massive animals’ murders astonished Europeans immediately, especially considering their thorough and attentive treatment to our little brothers. 

One of the vivid reflections of European dissatisfaction was recorded in Hamburg. German advertiser Christian Baur has introduced the yelping football ball in attempt to alert an attention of German residents to horroble situation in Ukraine. He left an invention on the streets. When people pulled the ball, it started yelping like dogs do. Curious people looked at the ball and saw messages left by Baur about dogs’ shooting in Ukraine. The ball appeal asked people to stop the mass destruction of animals and to support the German charity organization ETN eV for the protection of the environment and animals.

In November 2011 the world-known actress and prominent animal activist Brigitte Bardot referred to the Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych. Her letter carried a request to stop the mass destruction of stray dogs. After that, Prime Minister of Ukraine MykolaAzarov has demanded to strengthen control over the animals catch and prosecute all cases of abuse. In addition, last autumn the phenomenon of professional “dog-hunters” was revealed in Kyiv, who exchanged messages about their experience on the Internet. The second letter from Brigitte Bardot did not make the President wait.

The most incredible protesting step was made by Austrian authorities. On December 28th2011 Austrian deputies unanimously considered and supported a bill called the "Stop killing of stray animals in Ukraine” on the eve of Euro 2012. January 2012 has outburst with several boycotts of Ukrainian embassies with the same request. In particular, they were registered in Germany, Czech Republic and Italy, rightful countries-competitors of the football championship.

Great Britain also took part in animal rights campaign against Ukraine. The Sun, one of the leading mass media in the UK, has published pictures of the dead stray dogs, both poisoned and shot. They were made particularly in Kyiv and Donetsk, cities, which are going to host most of the football matches within the championship. Most of the activists admitted that there are no such records in Poland.

By Maria Kruk

The idea of equal rights of both humans and animals is, apparently, the most powerful statement of those, who fight against exploiting these marvelous creatures, their extermination, hunting and using in inappropriate purposes. 2011 was not only the year of crucial political transformations and economic reforms, but a period of prominent protests for animal rights as well, which could not but alert world society’s attention, as they occurred in both prosperous and developing countries.

One of the illustrious protests has been marked in March 2011 in Finland, which encouraged ten more countries to continue it in other areas. Specifically, ecologists of Finnish “OikeuttaEläimille” were remonstrating against cruel and disgustingly poor animal preserving in fur industries. On the basis of overview of certain such establishments, activists came to very sad conclusion: animals were kept injured, infected or even without limbs, not to speak about any veterinary treatment. On the contrary, the holders of these plants claimed that their fosters are in good hands and feel nothing, but well-being. It is impossible not to mention that Finnish protest even affected the results of parliamentary elections, when the activity of obvious leader (who appeared to be connected to state’s fur industry) was doubted by voters.

In September the protest against BFC Israel have emerged in front of the Embassy of Israel in Moscow, which opposed to laboratory experiments on monkeys this company conducted. Wearing the masks of monkeys, activists tried to deliver the claim of outrageous treatment to these funny animals. In particular, there were some statements about monkeys’ living in tiny cages until someone would like to buy them, afterwards they were sent to specific laboratories without their relatives and in depressed condition.

The suspicion about activity of protesters for animal rights appeared in Denmark in August, when thousands of minks (nearly 3500-7000 individuals) were released from cages on the farm, situated on the Funen Island of Assens community. However, the result was not so good, insomuch as 50 local hunters and inhabitants have caught or killed the most of fugitives almost during one evening, justifying their actions by potentially aggressive behavior of minks.

The demonstration against stray dogs killing in Ukraine was held in Leipzig on December.Their massive extermination is associated with arrangementof the European Football Championship 2012 in Ukraine and Poland. Under the motto "European Football Championship 2012 without killing animals" 80 people out ofAktion Fair Play (organization) came to the demonstration with posters and flyers, handing pictures of killed dogs to others. Instead of organizing certain dog shelters, these poor animals are hunted and burned in specialized crematories, and there were also evidences that dogs were alive before the process started. Many protestors brought their little pets to support the movement. In November, similar demonstrations were held in Potsdam and Kiel.

Probably, it would be appropriate to finish this article with the most unprecedented animal rights protest, which occurred in June, when 12 members of SpanishIgualdad Animal (Animal Equality in English) and EquaAnimal were arrested for a crime against natural environment (this accusation was likely to appear as the consequence of release of 20 thousand minks in  Santiago de Compostela). This event of national importance defined animal rights protestors as eco-terrorists, struggled with Spanish fur industry, which supported the repression wave in Spain.  The resonance this protest gained in the world society might resemble an attempt of criminalization of activists’ work.

Maria Kruk, an author for Species.com