Green Party Condemns Murder of Budgerigars

On 22 January 2008 on the Ukrainian border an unidentified person tried to smuggle a party of budgerigars on his bicycle. When he noticed the Belarusian border guards, he left his load and fled. In the six cages the border guards counted 277 birds, two of whom were already dead because of the bad conditions of transportation. The birds were passed to the veterinarian service, whose workers found no traits of bird influenza among the 275 remaining budgerigars.

In its note of protest the Central council of the Belarusian Green Party points at the inconsistency of the Belarusian border guards. ‘On 23 January the Committee of border forces officially expressed its concern with the fact that the birds had been transported like ‘sprouts in tins’ and called it ‘pure barbarism’ resulting in death of two birds. A representative of the Committee of border forces stated that the birds would be passed to zoo shops for sale. However, a day later, on 24 January Brest border veterinarians reported about ‘utilization’ of the 275 birds due to ‘global epidemiologic situation with bird influenza’.

‘Such attitude to highly organized lifeforms cannot be justified. Murder of healthy birds, who had no traits of bird influenza, is barbarism and violates the Civil Code of Belarus, according to which the state or other temporary owner of homeless pets receives the right of ownership only in the case the previous owner is not found during within six months,’ reads the protest note.

The council of the party emphasizes that nowadays violations of this norm and murders of healthy animals become a usual thing.

That’s why the Belarusian Green Party demands an urgent elaboration and adoption of the law On protection of animals from violent treatment.