The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the previous courts.
The court decided that the phrase “propaganda of the cult of violence and cruelty” (article 300 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, under which the man was tried) describes only relationships between people and does not appeal to the statements of people about animals, plants or any other area with which a person interacts
According to the prosecution, in 2013-2016, Oleksii Svyatohor encouraged violence and cruelty towards stray dogs in various television and radio broadcasts.
Svyatogor was also accused of trying to distribute audio and video promoting violence and cruelty towards homeless dogs, violating the requirements of Article 5 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of Animals from Cruelty”.
In fact, in the video, he was talking about poisoning and killing animals himself.
The case had lasted for more than six years. During this time, we followed it, attended court hearings, went to rallies and communicated in the mass media.
Such a decision is an alarming sign for the whole society, for animals and for people.
Despite everything, we encourage you to be attentive and always respond to calls for violence towards animals and to cases of violence — report them to the police and animal protection organizations.
