In late December 2016, local media reported that a car was spotted driving in Tula Region with a dog tied to its rear bumper; video footage also appeared online.
The witness wrote: “The poor dog has rubbed its paws till it bled. Sometimes it dropped down on the road but the car did not stop and continued to drag it. The dog understood that it had to run to stay alive and rose again, over and over.”
Witnesses said they tried to free the dog but had to give up on it because the driver and his associate threatened them. They called the police, but the animal remained tied to the car.
The police investigated and were able to find the abuser, a middle-aged male resident of the city of Tula. However, the prosecutors cannot initiate criminal proceeding for cruelty to animals, according to Russian legislature. The suspect is likely to only have to pay a fine for his sadistic joyride.
Currently, the State Duma (Russia's legislature) is drafting a new bill on “Humane Treatment to Animals,” by order of President Vladimir Putin, a dog-lover himself. The bill is to be discussed in spring, 2017.
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