Sochi - When he was leaving for the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Czech biathlete Michal Slesingr had mixed feelings and wrote on his blog that he was feeling more ashamed than proud of his participation in the games.
Shortly after his arrival in the southern Russian city, he became even more critical of the way the sports event was being prepared.
"I have been to Russia several times, and I always noticed stray dogs. It never surprised me and the dogs were never aggressive, actually they were rather timid, because they had been through a lot and had suffered a few kicks. The way (Sochi organizers) have chosen to get rid of such dogs in Sochi gives me the creeps, as I myself have two dogs at home. In Sochi they have decided to poison stray dogs and cats, so their death is long and very cruel," wrote Slesingr on his blog. His post also includes a video of a dog dying painfully with spasms in the street.
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The Sochi area has a big problem with stray dogs and cats, but nobody has really tried to address the issue until the Olympics. As the event was approaching, the organizers decided to use special traps and poisons to get rid of stray animals, in spite of protests by animal rights activists.
In one of his previous posts, Slesingr criticized the fact that the organizers captured two killer whales to be displayed in Sochi's dolphinarium, and at one point he described the sports event as a "circus".
"It is sad to be a participant in a theater of injustice and human narrow-mindedness. Man is not only the most intelligent species on Earth, but also the most selfish and cruel. I find comfort in the positive response by those who do care, and I hope that together we will be able to open the eyes of those who do not want to see," he wrote.
