Ecologists Indignant at New TV Project by Aliaksandr Zimouski

09.08.2007. Tags: ecology.
Source: Belarusian Association of Journalists.

A group of activists of the Belarusian ecological movement has distributed an appeal to the population concerning the advertisement of murders of wild animals in the National Parks on the Belarusian TV. A reason for the protest became a video by the Agency of Television News (ATN), called Belavezhskaye Safari. On 30 July 2007 it was shown on the 1^st Belarusian TV channel as a part of Aliaksandr Zimouski’s project National Parks of Belarus.

According to an initiator of the appeal Heorhi Kazulka for almost 30 minutes the spectators were familiarized with the murder industry. Moreover, the video was shot not in a usual forest, but in the National Park Belavezhskaya Pushcha. The film producers (the author of the script is Dzianis Kuryian) presented a detailed outlook of killing of the deer and wild boars by foreigners on the territory of the national park. The video even made use of a mobile phone shot of hunting dogs tearing apart a boar.

The authors of the appeal consider that demonstration of violent treatment of wild animals is immoral and inadmissible. They are convinced that demonstration of a similar video in Europe would cause a national scandal ending with trial of those who had relation to the atrocities and their public broadcast.

Belarusian ecologists demand to ‘stop the media advertisement of killings of animals on the territory of national parks’, because it is an immoral and ecologically harmful business which also compromises the state nature-conservation organs in the eyes of the civilized world. They also ask all conscious citizens of Belarus to support their initiative and sent their letters of protest to the Belarusian TV.