decree by the Governor of the Capital City, Kh.Nyambaatar to ensure the safety of the environment on January 11, establishing a temporary shelter for stray dogs and cats was envisaged. As Mongolia approved the Law on Pets, six animal shelters were decided to be established in the capital city. The office of the Mayor of Ulaanbaatar city announced that the first of such shelters was opened in khoroo 13 of Khan-Uul District. We are reporting from that center today.
The members of the working group receiving stray dogs and cats in temporary shelters include representatives of the Office of the Mayor of Ulaanbaatar, the Capital city’s General Authority for Veterinary Services, and the Emergency Commission. Bringing the animals to the shelter started on January 22. Dogs and cats caught wandering unsupervised on public property shall be returned within 48 hours at the owner’s request. If no one asks for it, they will be taken to a temporary shelter. The working group told the public, “Animals will be cared for in a warm and comfortable environment. In addition, they will undergo neutering and spay surgeries.” But in reality, there is no one to watch and check the animals.
FREEZING TO DEATH
An animal care center is located more than 30 km from the center of Ulaanbaatar. The dogs were divided into four groups according to their age and kept in metal cages. In doing so, the snow was removed from the cage for puppies. In each fence, four to five dogs had died, frozen and stuck to the ground. Dogs were huddled close to them. Two to three full frozen animal
guts were thrown for dogs. Puppies couldn’t help but only lick the frozen guts. When they are approached, they would howl as if asking for help and stick out their claws from behind the metal cage. They would run around and lick people who entered the yard asking for food. There is no one to take care of or check the dogs in the center. Animals are starving and freezing to death, as if they are imprisoned in a kind of “hell”.
The main animal care shelter is currently being renovated. The building has an area of 1,480 square meters and will soon be connected to heating. The work of connecting the heating line was started on January 27, and now it is in the final stage and waiting for the ordered stove. The manager of the Department of Housing and Public Works who is carrying out the renova-
tion said, “Since we arrived, no one has been seen taking care of the dogs. We are the ones who throw frozen guts to them. Dogs can’t eat it when it’s frozen, so we cut it with an ax. Dogs are freezing to death every day. Two puppies died last night.” The department is carrying out landscaping work with a team of 24 people. In doing so, they work in the area and spend the night in
a small ger built on the west side of the yard. More than 50 animal guts were piled up at the entrance of the building that was being renovated.
STATEMENTS BY OFFICIALS CONTINUE TO BE FALSE
Stray dog and cat shelters should be inhabited by animals brought from each district. When we arrived, there were only over 100 dogs. But the relevant officials of the district said that they handed over more animals than that. Last week, 238 dogs and 15 cats were caught by the Bayanzurkh District officials and sent to a temporary shelter. The Ulaanbaatar Mayor’s office clarified why these numbers differ. They said, “A doctor from the Capital city’s General Authority for Veterinary Services visits the shelter every day and provides health services. Rather than freezing to death, probably only sick animals died. Today a doctor left for a check-up. The number of animals that Bayanzurkh District says they have delivered includes those that were killed at the time of capture.” However, Head of Bayanzurkh District Urban Improvement Department N.Bilegsaikhan said, “238 dogs and 15 cats were caught, transported in 10 cars and handed over to the Office of the Governor of Ulaanbaatar city. Only live animals were sent. Only the dogs that attacked people during the transportation were killed to ensure their safety.” When asked by the Office of the Governor of Ulaanbaatar that more than half of the live animals transported by Bayanzurkh District have disappeared, they said, “We killed so many animals because we could not accept them all.” Such as this, the representatives of the Governor of the Capital City had forgotten what they had said 10 minutes ago, spreading misinformation.
This was not the only problem that the Governor’s office was “confused” about. When we asked them what to do with the animals brought to the temporary care facility, they said, “The animals will be kept in the temporary care facility for 14 days. After that, we planned to cooperate with organizations that perform voluntary activities. For example, ‘Lucky Paws, People
who love pets’ NGO will organize the adoption work together.” Unfortunately, the Head of the NGO, Ts.Zoriglon said, “The government did not discuss anything on this matter with anybody from our organization. What terrible people. Officials did not organize this work based on research and analysis. We asked the working group to fix it and stop harming animals. But they are doing such a strange thing.” Thus, when the Governor’s Office was confronted, they said the same, “There is nothing written down on paper. We have a verbal agreement.” They didn’t give up even after their lies were revealed repeatedly.
ATTEMPTS TO HIDE FACTS THAT THEY ARE TORTURING ANIMALS
Officials of the Governor’s Office said, “Don’t prepare negative information and send it to the public when the construction of the temporary shelter has just started. If negative information spreads, we have no choice but to kill the animals.” Along with lying, they managed to threaten others. They do not like receiving criticism for being unable to do their jobs. However, under the name of caring for animals, it is a shame that they are trying to hide the fact that they have tortured and killed them. More than 800 million MNT is being spent on furnishing and constructing the shelter for stray dogs and cats in khoroo 13 of Khan-Uul District. But in reality, this money looks to be “too much”. Currently, there is no “construction” other than making about 10 PCV windows in the building, furnishing the workers’ rooms, and putting up a wire mesh fence to keep the dogs. In the future, the heating of the shelter will be solved, and the veterinarian’s office and alcove will be built. People carrying out construction work said that the heating connection is nearing completion. Thus, their work is basically finished. But the officials said, “The renovation is not finished yet. We haven’t found a doctor or a nurse to work there.” It can be seen from here that the officials “showed off” as if they had opened an animal care center without any preparation. It is not known when the shelter will be put into use, at least there is no one to give food for the animals. The animals seem to have no choice but to scream and die behind the metal bars.
‘DREAM TO SHELTER 1,000 DOGS AND 500 CATS WILL BE FULFILLED’
There are many organizations in Mongolia that take care of stray dogs and cats. The main problem they face is land. When a shelter is opened, people from the surrounding area will chase them away because of the sound of the dogs. However, they love their animals like their own children. Houses are built for them and food is prepared. One of them, “UB shelter” NGO, is building a warm house for more than 100 dogs. The founder of the organization, M.Ariunsanaa explained what she would do if the government were to take care of stray dogs and cats, “Pets are going to be shot in secret instead of being killed openly. If we get the funding that the officials are talking about, we will fulfill our dream of having shelters for 1,000 dogs and 500 cats. With that amount of money, it is possible to make impactful results such as perform neutering surgery cheaply, to have a kind, good doctor, and to have medical equipment. There are many thoughts about what ifs. If the majority of people become conscious of understanding these painful animals living alongside us, there will be real results.”
On January 18, representatives of non-governmental organizations such as “Mongolian Canine Research Association”, “Lucky Paws, People who love pets”, “Mongolian Bankhar Research Association” and “UB shelter” met with the working group organizing the temporary shelter for stray dogs and cats. At that time, representatives of NGOs conveyed their request to pay attention to the establishment of an animal shelter and ensure that preparations are made in accordance with international standards. The representatives of some organizations left the meeting because they found what the working group said was inhumane. In addition, the “Lucky Paws, People who love pets” NGO has sent a request to the Office of the Mayor of Ulaanbaatar City to improve its activities by collecting opinions from citizens and placing them in temporary shelters.
Moreover, people on social media wrote, “Just visited the new government shelter for pets. It’s just a way to kill them off in cages. Why are they freezing the animals in this harsh cold. This is too inhumane.” Another person wrote on Facebook, “I just visited the new shelter. It’s horrifying. I don’t know if the dogs killed one of their own or they died from the cold, but he other dogs were eating it. One puppy was put into a cage with big dogs and its head was bitten off. Its body could not be removed as it was stuck to the ground. Why are officials putting animals through hell when they are not prepared. No one is responsible for them. What can we do?”
The Governor’s Office did not rely on research and analysis when establishing a shelter for stray dogs and cats, which led to many problems. If they cannot do it by themselves, least they can do is incorporate the suggestions of people who are dedicated to protect animals. Unfortunately, many animals were killed due to the careless decision of the officials. How long will we leave the lives of animals and people in the hands of the government who refuse to do the actual work?
