Attorney-general of Ukraine
Medved'ko O. I.

Copies: various mass media of Ukraine

DECLARATION

We undersigned express our deepest indignation at the acts of organizers of the initiative «Out with them all», in particular Mr. Dmytro Korchynskiy and Mr. Juriy Zbytnev, who conducted a public performance using live animals (fancy rats) on Khreschatyk on January 21, 2009.

The rats used for the show were purchased at the "fleet market". They are sold there in kind of decorative animals intended for living exclusively indoors in conditions suitable for people. Freezing air outdoors causes disease and death of these animals. Moreover, opening the box on the thoroughfare close to streams of people and heavy traffic exposed them to the risk of being run or knocked down. Simultaneous keeping of 453 rats in a box as small as 1 m² is an undoubtful infringement on biologically reasonable conditions of their habitation. It caused excessive stress of animals, and some died. Many people including infants watched these tortures.

Mass media that covered this news have recorded aforesaid facts in their reports.

All aforementioned corroborates the offence of performance organizers against the following articles of the Law of Ukraine «On the Protection of Animals from Brutal Treatment»:

• Article 7 "General regulations for keeping of animals that eliminate brutality", because the place for keeping of animals was not appropriately equipped to provide required space and temperature conditions.
• Article 11 "Transportation of animals", because the protection against harmful external factors was not provided.
• Article 5 "Prohibition of propaganda of brutality against animals", because the show, including the torture of animals, took place during the daytime on a populous spot (Khreschatyk str., Kyiv) and assumed coverage by mass media.

We demand, applying the Article 35 of the Law of Ukraine «On the Protection of Animals from Brutal Treatment» ("Responsibility for violation of statutory requirements of this Law"), to recognize the acts of Mr. D.Korchynskiy and Mr. J.Zbytnev offensive against this Law. We require to bring an action before court based on the Article 299 of Criminal code of Ukraine "Brutal treatment of animals", part 2 "Torture of animals that belong to vertebrates committed using cruel methods in the presence of an infant".

In addition, we demand to study the fact of purchasing a swarm of rats on the "fleet market" followed by keeping them in a congestion, from the perspective of compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards in public shows.

Appendix: The list of publically accessible mass media reports of the show.