Tbilisi City Hall: Dog Cemetery Is for Animals That Died of Various Causes, Mass Killing Is False

Tbilisi City Hall calls information spread in the media about animal burial sites a lie. According to the agency, it is a distortion of facts, as if the Animal Monitoring Agency were carrying out mass and deliberate killing of animals.

According to the City Hall, a report aired on the TV company "Pirveli" and a campaign by a certain group of citizens contain unverified and false information. In the agency's assessment, the aim of the disinformation is to mislead the public, discredit the agency's activities and damage its reputation. The City Hall believes that the video material and the arbitrary actions of some citizens aim to discredit Tbilisi City Hall and artificially create tension in society.

According to the City Hall, the process shown in the video is fully permitted by legislation. The cemetery is intended for placing the remains of dogs that died for various reasons in the territory of Tbilisi, including from disease, road accidents, accidents and natural death. In the capital, hundreds of animals are euthanized each year, and thousands die of natural causes.

The agency states that it has never concealed this information, and data on the agency's activities and animal management processes are public and available on its official website. According to the City Hall, people who dig up graves are also well informed about this, as they themselves have repeatedly used the agency's service to bury their deceased animals. The City Hall calls the opinion that live, specially sedated dogs are placed in the cemetery slander and complete nonsense.

The City Hall believes that arbitrary opening of burial sites, digging up and moving remains is illegal, violates sanitary safety, creates a risk of biological contamination, threatens human health and life, and damages the environment. It advises those who took part in digging up the burial sites to undergo a medical examination.

The City Hall has appealed to law enforcement bodies to investigate the "vandalistic act" carried out by a certain group and to take legal action. It asks the public to refrain from arbitrarily opening burial sites, not to follow unverified information, and to rely only on official, verified data.