In the heart of a dog: why doghunters have become more active in the Moscow region

Attacks on animals, both domestic and wild, have become more frequent in the Moscow Region: dozens of dogs were poisoned in Krasnogorsk, and two animals walking with their owners were shot in the Pushkin City district. According to animal rights activists, only in two cases out of 100 cases against dog hunters and other knackers reach court, and real terms of imprisonment are awarded only in 10% of such court cases. Experts complain that there is little law enforcement practice in such cases and there is no unified system for responding to such cases throughout Russia.

How dogs are attacked in the Moscow region

Since the end of October 2025, doghunters have become more active in the Moscow region. So, in Krasnogorsk, knackers poisoned dozens of dogs, two animals died. And in the urban-type settlement of Putilkovo, several dozen dogs with the same symptoms of poisoning were admitted to veterinary clinics. As reported in the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the region, a local resident contacted the Putilkovo duty station, who said that unknown substances were scattered in the vicinity.

The story in the village of Sofrino in the Pushkin City District also caused a significant public outcry. The owner of two dogs, Plato and Chocolate, got into an altercation with unknown people at a local store. The men separated, but later clashed again in a wooded area, where unknown men shot the dogs and beat the owner.

Platon was killed on the spot, and Chocolate was seriously injured. After that, the shooters attacked the 52-year—old owner of the dogs - they smashed his face and broke several ribs. Chocolate could not be saved at the veterinary clinic, and due to the severity of the dog's injuries, he had to be euthanized. Soon, the police detained the shooters, but released them after questioning.

On December 2, unidentified men brutally killed a street dog and a puppy on the territory of one of the rest homes near Zvenigorod. The animals were hiding under the foundation of an abandoned cottage. They were lured out with explosives and shot.

The day after the attack, the doghunters returned, and local zoo activists detained one of them. According to them, he was a retired former veterinarian who was involved in illegal trapping of animals.

"On this fact, the investigator of the investigation department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs initiated a criminal case on the grounds of a crime under Part 1 of Article 245 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation," the Moscow region Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.

Pavel Shidlovsky, founder and director of the Fondanimals Animal Protection Fund, chairman of the All-Russian Coordinating Council for Animal Protection, called the situation egregious.

— I personally got involved, a criminal case was initiated under Part 1 of Article 245 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, — he said. "In my opinion, the legal qualification of those acts is incorrect: on December 2, at least two dogs were killed, and this is already part two of the article, the punishment for which is much more serious, and which should be investigated by an investigator, not an inquirer," he said.

In addition, according to him, the case has signs of other crimes — illegal carrying of weapons (art. 222 of the Criminal Code), intentional infliction of minor harm to health (art. 115 of the Criminal Code) and illegal entrepreneurship (art. 171 of the Criminal Code).

— It is necessary to interrogate all witnesses, demand recordings from surveillance cameras, establish the place where the corpses of dogs were taken and send them for examination, — Pavel Shidlovsky told. — I am sure that we will ensure the initiation of new criminal cases and their thorough investigation.

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Why do doghunters go unpunished

Only in two cases out of 100, the case against dog hunters and other knackers reaches court, Pavel Shidlovsky said.

— We are collecting reports of animal cruelty all over Russia, and we have seen significant growth in recent years. And, according to our estimates, 98% of the knackers remain unpunished, and criminal proceedings are often not initiated at all," he said.

According to the expert, according to the results of an analysis of more than 350 court sentences from 2018 to 2024 under Article 245 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on cruelty to animals, real terms of imprisonment are awarded only in 10% of court cases.

"Thus, only two out of a thousand people receive a real sentence, that is, 0.2% of all cases of animal cruelty in the country," he said.

Among the reasons for the current situation, he called "the lack of established practice of application," as well as "the internal attitude of law enforcement officers and judges."

"Many people consider animal cruelty to be a minor and serious crime," he said.

According to Pavel Shidlovsky, in most cases, the perpetrators are given a suspended sentence or correctional labor withholding a percentage of wages.

— In six years, there have been fewer than 50 convictions involving actual imprisonment across the country. This is negligible compared to the level of cruelty to animals that we record," the expert emphasized.

Doghunting has recently become more active throughout Russia, said Elena Ivanova, deputy chairman of the working group on neglected animals at the Moscow Public Chamber.

— Butchery is a vile and vile phenomenon, like any secret, cowardly massacre of helpless and defenseless creatures. Usually unpunished," she said. — Attacks on dog owners and those who feed stray animals have become more frequent. In the spring of 2025, dozens of people were killed and maimed for their affection for animals.

The expert believes that the reason for the spread of doghunting is the lack of law enforcement practice, a unified response system for the entire territory of Russia and a single legislative principle of activity in the field of animal treatment.

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Sergey Egorov, head of the Egorov and Partners: Animal Rights project, noted that in the era of the development of social networks, the activities of dog hunters have changed somewhat.

— They are engaged in the promotion of cruelty to animals, which is prohibited by art. 12 (prohibition of propaganda of cruelty to animals) of the law on responsible treatment of animals. Russian legislation still does not provide for any responsibility for violating this rule of law," he stressed.

He believes that law enforcement officers do not always know how to investigate such crimes. At the same time, according to him, out of ten reported facts of animal cruelty, cases are initiated in one or two cases. Based on judicial practice, punishment for these categories of crimes, as a rule, is not associated with actual imprisonment, Sergei Egorov added.