Police brutally disperse protest against killing of stray dogs in Baku. VIDEO

Azerbaijani animal rights activists held a protest against the killing of stray animals in front of the Toplan dog care center in Baku on July 8. According to one of the participants, Aytaj Hasanova, on July 1, employees of the center kidnapped her dog from the yard.

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“For a whole week we have been going to the center, calling, we want to take our dog back, or at least see it alive. We contacted them several times. But all our appeals remain unanswered. They say you can’t enter the territory of the center. According to the veterinarian of the center Gunel Alekperova, they signed the act, and the dog will not be returned to us. It is illegal. They say that in 20 days the dog will be released into nature.

This means death. They are released outside the city, where no one lives and the dogs cannot find food. We have the right to see our dog for at least these 20 days. we demand it back”, Aytaj Hasanova said in an interview with JAMnews.

One of the organizers of the action, animal rights activist Nijat Ismailov noted that they demand their killed dogs back:

“For more than two years more than 30,000 dogs have disappeared without a trace. We do not know where they were taken. We are holding a protest. Everyone knows that this center is funded by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. There are facts that they were allocated 60 million manat [approximately $ 35.300]. Where is this money? What did they spend it on?”

According to Elkhan Mirzoyev, another protester, 9 out of 10 dogs brought to this center disappear without a trace:

“Those who come here for their animals are asked for money. I have audio recordings and other evidence of extortion by Toplan employees.

The protest lasted for several hours and during this time none of the Toplan employees could not give any information to the protesters about the dogs they wanted. The police with the use of force dispersed the protesters, several people were detained. As the deputy chief of the 12th police department of Baku city Suleiman Abbasov noted in an interview with our correspondent, the detainees were taken to the police station.

Three hours later, the detained activists were released.