Russian Federal Subjects Putting Homeless Dogs to Sleep Form Deadly New ‘Archipelago’

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Nov. 6 – Since the end of 2023 when the governments of Russia’s federal subjects were authorized to kill homeless animals, a relatively small number of these regions and republics have put to death almost 16,000 dogs, thus forming what Takiye Dela journalist Aleksey Semyonov describes as a deadly new “dog archipelago” in Russia.

            Almost half of these deaths have taken place in Astrakhan Oblast, another 3300 dogs were put to sleep in Stavropol Kray, 1500 in the Tyva Republic, and 667 in Penza Oblast, he writes, with significantly fewer in other regions and republics (takiedela.ru/notes/arkhipelag-sobak/).

            Semyonov says he examined data from the 34 federal subjects where regional governments have adopted laws allowing the authorities to capture and then put down homeless dogs.  He notes that officials have been chary about releasing such data and acknowledges that these figures are almost certainly far from complete.

            Prior to the issuance in 2023 of  the federal law allowing the killing of stray dogs, regional officials were required to catch, then sterilize, vaccinate and release the dogs, an arrangement that did little to reduce the number of strays or the number of complaints of dog attacks by Russian residents.

            Even since then, about two-thirds of the federal subjects which have adopted laws allowing the killing of homeless dogs typically tried to find other means of getting the dogs off the streets, including adoption and dispatch to pounds and zoos. But in ten cases, the journalist says, the authorities have chosen execution as the primary means of control.

            According to Semyonov, the killing of dogs has done little to reduce the number of bites reported. Indeed, in nine regions where dogs were killed in significant numbers in 2025, only two showed declines and small ones at that regarding the number of bites that residents had suffered from homeless dogs.

            Animal rights activists are seeking to overturn these inhumane laws and hope that as people see that killing dogs doesn’t give them the results they want, they will be willing to support other measures to deal with what has long been a problem in Russia (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2023/05/if-duma-enacts-putin-regime-backed.html and windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2026/09/more-than-half-of-russian-households.html).