Half of Voronezh stray dog attack victims are children
18 criminal cases for negligence and improper service provision linked to attacks by unsupervised dogs are under investigation in the Voronezh department of the Investigative Committee. In nine instances, children were harmed. This is all the detail provided by the Investigative Committee in response to an editorial request from Voronezh1.ru. We asked for statistics on «dog» cases and checks since 2017, information on grounds for refusing to initiate or close cases, but primarily—about results. How many officials and of what ranks were punished, how many dog catchers—and how they were penalized.
On statistics, the Investigative Committee stated that cases and checks on stray dog attacks are not counted in principle—it is not part of their reporting. They advised looking for everything else in their official news, where it is allegedly «widely covered.» Moreover, there is investigation secrecy: «public disclosure of the investigation is permitted only to the extent that it does not harm the investigation»s interests or violate the rights, freedoms, and legal interests of participants in criminal proceedings«—a quote.
In the official Telegram channel of the Investigative Department for Voronezh Region, from January 8 to December 22, 2025, I counted at least 28 reports on launched probes and cases after another homeless dog attacked a person—often a child. Yet, there is no news on how these initiatives concluded. I only know for certain that no municipal employee or dog catcher was punished for the death of Artyom, who was mauled to death by a stray pack on Mashinostroiteley Street, with investigators telling relatives they were simply the unluckiest of all. While Voronezh officials champion stray dogs« rights and spend millions from the budget on them, catering to radical animal rights activists, and investigators defend officials» rights—dogs multiply and continue to bite people.
However, some regions prioritize residents« rights. In Lipetsk, a child and a young man have died due to stray dogs, and the local mayor»s office told animal rights activists feeding the packs to take them home—to pity them there. In Transbaikal, the Investigative Committee has sent a negligence case to court against the head of a department in Chita«s administration. Yulia Makukha was responsible for organizing stray dog capture. According to the investigation, she performed her duties similarly to her Voronezh counterparts: from April to August 2025, 13 residents were injured by street dogs, seven of them children. Additionally, Chita investigators are examining the head of a contractor company for capture after a stray pack nearly killed a 5-year-old girl. If one»s own mistakes teach nothing, it is not disgraceful to learn from others«.
