I'll give you parabellum

In the “Conversations in the Lines” section, Roman Romishevsky and Ela Znamenskaya discuss the intentions of regional legislators to issue citizens with an ultrasonic repeller... for now against yard dogs

In recent years, everyone has been persistently forced to march on the parade ground, but no one has yet officially canceled the right to opinion, so even while marching in formation there is still an opportunity to talk. In the section “Talkers in the Lines” we discuss current events. Roman Romishevsky and Ela Znamenskaya are both journalists, native Zhukovites who were born and raised in the science city. However, with different attitudes to life, the first is ready to believe that it will be better, while the second always believes that it will be worse. The truth, apparently, is somewhere in the middle, but this is also inaccurate.

Chairman of the Moscow Regional Duma Committee on Agrarian Policy Sergei Kerselyan proposed distributing ultrasonic repellers to all residents of the Moscow region to protect themselves from attacks by yard dogs.

Ela Znamenskaya: I used to think that only in our country agriculture and agricultural policy are tied mainly to stray animals. According to Zhukovsky, this was easily explained: the budget is formed on the basis of municipal programs issued from the region, including agriculture. And since there is simply no such thing in the science city, and the program must be filled at any cost, they included the catching of stray dogs in it. Now, it turns out that the issue is of at least regional importance, since the main agrarian has spoken about it. Or maybe someone just opened a factory for the production of ultrasonic repellers, it’s good that they weren’t tied, as in the story with dumplings, to the bonds from Governor Vorobyov’s youth.

Roman Romishevsky: I have lived in the area of ​​the Otdykh platform for many years, and in our area we had many problems with stray dogs. They walked here in huge flocks, growled at people and attacked cats living in basements, including our house. I must say that it is not a very pleasant neighborhood with packs of stray dogs.
Then they disappeared for some time, and then some individuals from this flock appeared again, but with special tags on their ears. I understand that they were caught, sterilized and released back into the wild. But even in this situation, it’s still not very pleasant when they run past you. Probably, such “chipping” is the correct story, but I would also start solving the issue from the root cause of its appearance. Namely, from careless owners of such dogs who take cute and kind puppies for themselves, and when they grow up, they throw them out into the street. In my opinion, there needs to be responsibility for pet owners for those they tame.

Ela Znamenskaya: This is the real work of a legislator, and not handing out whistles. I am also for those who first buy a trendy breed, and then suddenly find out with surprise that everything is not so simple. The most striking example is huskies, which have become very popular, but are completely unsuitable for living in an apartment. In groups on social networks, huskies that were thrown into the street are constantly being rehomed.
However, responsibility alone will not change the situation for such careless owners; we need to promote the same shelters where you can adopt a friend. But for some reason, the regional media, which spend billions of budget money, prefer to talk about the talents and fans of Governor Vorobyov; they simply do not care about other topics.

Roman Romishevsky: Sometimes people get pets – it doesn’t matter whether they are dogs or cats – not because they really need a four-legged friend, but because “it’s so fashionable.” And then, when all the “special effects” wear off, when everyone has admired and asked questions, the dog or cat becomes unnecessary. This happens. I don’t really understand how it’s possible to take a living creature and throw it out into the street, but since this happens, it means to someone it seems quite “normal.” I can’t wrap my head around this: after all, this is your friend, a creature who is devoted to you, who depends on you...

Do you remember, somewhere at the turn of the 90s, bull terriers became very fashionable, which were kept in small apartments, and there were cases when they even attacked their owners at home? What to hide, my relatives kept such a dog in a one-room apartment and after a couple of such incidents they finally gave him to a shelter. But this was a shelter, not a street. There are professional workers there, veterinarians who know how to treat animals.

Therefore, of course, such organizations are needed and there needs to be widespread information about where they are located, so that dog and cat breeders “because it’s fashionable” can give their pet there, giving it a chance for normal maintenance and, perhaps, to find new, truly loving owners.

Ela Znamenskaya: About everything is clear with frivolous trend lovers; at least administrative responsibility will stop them. The state's approach is more interesting. That is, even the legislator (let alone the executive branch) admitted that a well-thought-out strategy for working with stray animals is not our strong point, so the only thing we can do is give citizens a conditional “whistle.” It’s like the administration recently gave residents shovels to clear snow in their yards. I propose to go further, give out a blackboard so that they can teach the children themselves, a stethoscope so that they can treat themselves, and a bicycle, otherwise public transport is also some kind of garbage, even the Minister of Transport fled because he couldn’t figure it out. Only in this case does a small nuance arise: then citizens should also keep their taxes and manage them independently, without such intermediaries.

Roman Romishevsky: As for ultrasonic repellers, to be honest, I’m not sure that this will seriously solve the situation. Although I am generally an optimist. Even if we assume that everyone has such a repeller, you can forget it at home, you may not be able to transfer it from a coat to a jacket or back when the weather changes, the batteries in the device may run out or you may simply not have time to get it... And then where can you get so many of these devices, after all, there are more than 6 million devices...

Ela Znamenskaya: That’s why the only possible explanation is that someone decided to launch a startup at budget expense, I don’t see any other explanation. In our country, by the way, street crime is still off the charts, so we can also give everyone a gas canister. Well, or just food, many citizens will not refuse. But they stopped at whistles, as if they had been given everything in the Moscow Regional Duma by repellents of common sense.

Roman Romishevsky: An ultrasonic repeller may not be a bad story. But it is unlikely to be implemented on such a scale. But promoting responsibility for pets, informing about shelters operating in the district - this, in my opinion, is the main thing that needs to be done. Well, and of course, sterilization of stray animals, but only humanely and without causing pain. Because dogs and cats are not to blame for people treating them this way. And, of course, there is legislative responsibility.