Cat Burned and Abandoned in Ejmiatsin: Report

The "Dingo Team" NGO reports another case of brutal treatment towards animals. On Kamo Street in the city of Vagharshapat, for the second time, volunteers from the "Dingo Team" have found a mutilated animal, specifically a cat with deep burns, as reported by Econews.am.

Coordinator of the "Dingo Team" NGO, Gohar Manushakyan, stated in an interview with the site that a live animal with similar injuries had also been found in the same area some time ago. Animal welfare activists perceive intent behind these incidents.

It is noteworthy that the brutal treatment of animals indicates a "sick" society. As psychologist Irina Tsaturyan mentioned in her conversation with Econews.am, those who torture animals are not normal. "This speaks to an extremely negative state of mind. Such cruelty towards an animal also suggests that that specific person has experienced brutality in their childhood. People like this torture animals. Such a person cannot be considered mentally healthy and could be very dangerous for society. A person's attitude towards an animal reveals what kind of person they are. There is a connection. If he inflicts harm on someone smaller and defenseless, then that person is not normal. This is evident," she elaborated.

It is important to emphasize that following amendments to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, brutal treatment towards animals is subject to criminal liability under Article 258.2. This includes acts such as killing an animal through strangling, hanging, dismembering, striking forcefully, whipping, shooting, poisoning, or injecting substances that lead to cruel or painful death, skinning alive, mutilating, throwing it into fire, dropping it from heights or vehicles, organizing and carrying out animal fights, as well as conducting scientific experiments on animals in violation of established procedures and other brutal treatments. The punishment includes fines ranging from one hundred to three hundred times the minimum wage, or confinement for one to three months, or imprisonment for up to one year.

The same act committed by a group of individuals by prior agreement, with particular cruelty, in the presence of a minor, or against two or more animals is punishable by fines ranging from three hundred to five hundred times the minimum wage or imprisonment for one to three years.