The Chashniki prosecutor's office has extended the inspection period by another 10 days in the case of cruelty to cormorants.

July 9, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The prosecutor's office of the Chashniki district, in accordance with the law, has extended the inspection period for another ten days, until July 19, in the case of cruel treatment of cormorant chicks, the acting prosecutor of the Chashniki district, Maxim Zinovik, told a BELTA correspondent. The police continue their verification measures, although, according to unofficial information, the person involved in harming the cormorant chicks on the island in Lake Lukomskoye in mid-June has been identified. The local village council, upon completion of the police inspection, will prepare documents for court review. By decision of the district commission for providing assistance to wild animals in distress, the district inspector, together with employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and members of the Belarusian Society of Hunters and Fishermen, captured the injured birds, euthanized them and disposed of them. Euthanasia was the only way to prevent 28 birds with the upper part of their beaks cut off from dying a torturous death by starvation. The case of cruel treatment of cormorant chicks is under the control of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection. The cormorant is listed among wild animals of undesirable species, and its hunting is permitted. However, cruel treatment of any birds is unacceptable and punishable by law. According to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Belarus, cruel treatment of animals, resulting in their death or injury, entails a fine of 10 to 30 base units or administrative arrest. Two years ago, a precedent occurred in the Vitebsk region: a resident of Glubokoye was brought to administrative responsibility for tormenting a bird. The man decided to use a live jackdaw as a scarecrow in his garden and tied it by the leg with a rope to a pole he had installed on a tree. The suffering of the bird, which was trying to fly away, did not leave the neighbors indifferent, who called the environmentalists. The inspector and the local police officer rescued the tormented bird, and an administrative protocol was drawn up against the tormentor. The court found the Glubokoye resident guilty and, considering his admission of guilt and the fact that the bird remained alive, sentenced him to a minimum fine of Br350,000 (the base unit in 2010 was Br35,000). -0-