Animal rights activist fined 10 thousand for protest against surgical declawing of cats

The Tverskoy District Court of Moscow has fined animal rights activist Zoya Nikolskaya 10,000 rubles for a solitary picket in front of the State Duma building against the amputation of cats' claws. Zoya Nikolskaya told OVD-Info about this.

“The court did not take into account that I agreed in advance the place where I would stand with the duty officer in the State Duma,” said the animal rights activist. Nikolskaya was found guilty of violating the order of the action (part 5 of article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses).

She and three other activists - Maria Krekotun, Ekaterina Dmitrieva and Tatyana Musatayeva - were detained during a series of one-man pickets, when one of them approached the other with a banner lowered. The protocol on Dmitrieva was returned by the court to the police because of violations. Musatayeva filed a lawsuit against the officers who detained her.

be legally recognized as cruelty to animals. Animal rights activists demanded that onychectomy , an operation in which cats remove their claws along with the ungual phalanx of fingers,