The conductor who threw out a cat that escaped from its owner's carrier while the train was stopping in Kirov and was later found dead should be punished under an article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for cruelty to animals. State Duma deputy Vladimir Burmatov pointed this out on Saturday, January 20.
“She (the conductor – Ed.) actually killed the animal. And this should no longer be classified as an official violation, but she certainly committed it. <...> she threw it away – she had no right to do this, and as a result the animal died,” Burmatov said in a comment “RIA News”.
In his opinion, the conductor’s actions can be qualified under part one of Article 245 (“Cruelty to Animals”) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
According to the deputy, the conductor should have found the owner of the animal and demanded that he place the cat in a carrier.
The parliamentarian added that Russian Railways should carry out explanatory work with all train personnel to prevent similar consequences in the future.
In turn, lawyer Igor Zverev, in a conversation with Izvestia, noted that the conductor’s actions can be qualified under Part 2 of Art. 8.52 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (“Failure to comply with requirements for keeping animals”), the punishment for which includes a fine. In addition, her actions may be classified under the article on cruelty to animals, which provides for a more serious punishment.
The owner of the animal himself, the lawyer also noted, can prove property damage in court and demand monetary compensation for the cost of the animal, as well as demand compensation for moral damage and other expenses related to the incident.
The incident occurred on January 11. The owner of the cat, Edgar Gaifullin, said that Twix was traveling on a train with an accompanying person from Yekaterinburg to the Leningrad region to see his owners, but at a stop in Kirov, the conductor threw the cat out into the street because she thought that the cat had no owners, recalls “Gazeta.Ru”.
At the same time, the Kirov Line Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Transport noted that the cat was released from the carriage by the conductor due to the inattention of the owner, initiating a criminal case under Art. 330 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Arbitrariness”) was denied. They noted that the victim has the right to resolve the issue through civil proceedings.
On January 19, lawyer and animal rights activist Alexander Khaminsky told Izvestia that the conductor who threw the cat of one of the passengers out into the cold could be prosecuted under Art. 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Intentional damage or destruction of property”), which provides for punishment of up to two years in prison. According to the information available to the lawyer, all transport and accompanying documents were drawn up for the animal.
Commenting on the situation, Russian Railways stated on January 19 that they regret the incident and apologize to the passenger. An official investigation is underway into this fact, and the conductor’s actions will be assessed accordingly.
#State #Duma #deputy #called #criminal #prosecution #conductor #threw #cat