Nathan Winograd

Nathan Winograd

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Nathan Winograd
Russian forces have killed hundreds of thousands of animals in Ukraine

Russian forces have killed hundreds of thousands of animals in Ukraine

News and headlines for June 10 - June 16, 2023

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Nathan Winograd
Jun 16, 2023
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Nathan Winograd
Russian forces have killed hundreds of thousands of animals in Ukraine
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“All life should be valued.” After Russia blew up a dam in Ukraine, volunteers rushed “to rescue as many animals as possible, plucking them from the rooftops and garages of flooded homes before they die[d] of dehydration and hunger.” To date, “they have saved 107 animals since the dam’s collapse: 45 dogs, 36 cats, five kittens, 18 chickens and three goats that will go to shelters across Ukraine.” Hundreds of other animals drowned. All told, Russia’s brutal invasion has killed hundreds of thousands of animals, many of them deliberately targeted to break the hearts of Ukrainians. This should be a war crime. 

These are some of the stories making headlines in animal protection:

The first pet-friendly movie theater opened in Thailand. 

Dozens of four-legged filmgoers arrived in strollers Saturday for the opening of Thailand’s first pet-friendly cinema on the fringes of the capital. They all geared up to watch Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ with their owners.

Thailand’s number of dogs and cats is the second largest in Asia, behind China. 


As previously reported, 12 horses were killed in one month at Churchill Downs before the Kentucky Derby, the first race in the blood sport’s Triple Crown.

The second race, at Preakness Stakes, did not spare horses from an untimely death, either. Havnameltdown was put to death “after suffering a serious injury” in preparation for the race.

This week, two horses were killed “in consecutive races at Belmont Park,” the third leg of the Triple Crown.

Mashnee Girl…  broke down in the first race Sunday, suffering a catastrophic injury to her left front leg at the storied racecourse in Elmont, just outside New York City, before she was put down…

About 17 hours earlier, in the 13th race Saturday, a similar fate befell…  Excursionniste, who also suffered a fatal injury to the front left ankle.

Over 40 horses die, on average, every year at Belmont Park. More than that die at Churchill Downs. And all told, about 10 horses die per week on an American racetrack.


The dismantling of the No Kill Equation safety net in Austin, TX, continues as current city and pound leadership prime the community for killing. Instead of taking responsibility for their failures, Austin Animal Center blames the pandemic, lack of resources, and even the No Kill policy. It is a lie. 

As previously reported, “incompetence and uncaring at Austin Pets Alive and the city’s shelter are responsible for a crisis with lethal consequences for the animals.” Austin is one of the best-funded shelter systems in the country, intakes are well below pre-pandemic levels, and adoption rates remain strong across the country. APA, meanwhile, is telling Austin to ship animals out of state, even while it turns its back on them, choosing to import animals from outside Austin. 

The incompetence of the Austin animal shelter establishment also gives aid and comfort to enemies of dogs, like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. PETA kills roughly 90% of the animals it takes in, despite over $80 million in annual revenues. Why? PETA officials believe that sharing one’s home subjects animals to bondage and oppression: 

Let us allow the dog to disappear from our brick and concrete jungles — from our firesides, from the leather nooses and metal chains by which we enslave it.

Not surprisingly, PETA has called on Austin to kill the dogs, arguing that killing animals is “the most effective way to reduce overcrowding” — dead dogs don’t need to be housed in a kennel. They are instead wrapped in garbage bags and sent to rot in landfills.

What PETA does not say is that it is also the most violent way to do so — and wholly unnecessary. Comprehensive adoption programs and the other programs and services of the No Kill Equation are not only effective, they are humane, too.


A California appeals court will hear a case involving two nonprofit groups that were denied the chance to take on supposed problem dogs because of policies set forth by the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control.

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