http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/01/31/badnicolas.shtml
Russian Animal Rights Group Cites Famous French Traveler’s Cruelty
Created: 31.01.2006 15:07 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 15:07 MSK
MosNews
French traveler Nicolas Vanier, who is crossing Russia in a dog-drawn
sledge, is behaving cruelly towards his dogs, Russian Vita animal
rights organization reported Tuesday.
Vanier is now in the middle of his journey that started in December
in Irkutsk and will finish on Moscow’s Red Square in March. But
witnesses say the Frenchman, who is traveling across Russia in
a sledge drawn by 10 dogs, may not be able to get to the final
stage if he continues to treat his carrier animals as he does
now.
The huskies are in an extremely bad condition, with legs covered
in blood up to their knees. Three of the 10 animals could not
continue the trip and had to be left along the way. The dry feed
they receive is not nourishing enough in temperatures that reach
50 C below zero, Vita said.
When the dogs were offered hay to lie on during a stop in the
city of Tomsk, the animals started eating it hungrily, bringing
witnesses to tears, said a letter that Tomsk citizens sent to
Vita.
Vita said either Vanier has insufficient experience with dogs,
or he has chosen the route badly, as his huskies can run well
in the snow, but cannot run over the ice that they have to cross.
Vita expressed serious doubts whether an expedition that results
in the painful death of animals can serve as means of environmental
education, the way Vanier’s voyage was meant to.
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