A Russian court has declared videos and photos of cockfights posted on the VKontakte social network as prohibited. In the published footage, bird owners intentionally forced them to fight each other, resulting in serious injuries to the animals. This is evidenced by the materials of the court case, which came into the possession of Izvestia.
It was established that the organizers of the fights deliberately pitted roosters against each other, bringing the clashes to bloody injuries. Moreover, the publications were publicly accessible, so any social network user, including minors, could view the cruel scenes.
The court documents emphasize that Russian legislation provides for restrictions on the dissemination of materials related to animal cruelty. For cruelty itself, criminal liability may arise under the circumstances provided by law.
The decision concerns specific publications reviewed by the court, and not any photos or videos involving roosters. Details about the page owners, the possible prosecution of the fight organizers, and the deadlines for removing the materials have not yet been provided.