You're reading: Euro 2012 director calling on Ukraine’s leadership to find humane solution to stray animals problem

UEFA Director for Euro 2012 Martin Kallen has asked Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister Borys Kolesnikov to settle the situation with stray animals in the country without resorting to killing them, president of the "SOS" International Society for the Protection of Animals Tamara Tarnawska said at a press conference in Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday, June 9.

"On June 1, I met with Mr. Kallen at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon (Switzerland). In response to my letter dated June 1, he on the same day wrote a letter to [Ukraine’s] Deputy Prime Minister Borys Kolesnikov. We talked about the problem of cruel, barbaric and medieval killing of stray animals in Ukraine, and the use of mobile crematoria in Lysychansk, Mariupol and other cities. We paid a lot of attention to the situation with Kyiv Zoo."

In his appeal to the vice prime minister, Kallen noted that UEFA does not support cruel methods of killing stray animals and has never encouraged the Ukrainian authorities to use such methods.

Tarnawska also said that the UEFA Director for Euro 2012 is receiving letters daily from around the world about the treatment of stray animals in Ukraine. This jeopardizes the reputation of UEFA, and harms confidence in the organization, she said.

The president of the SOS society stressed that in his letter, Kallen had asked Kolesnikov to meet with Tarnawska to work out a position concerning the further action. "A week has passed, but I haven’t yet received an invitation from the deputy prime minister," she said.

In addition, according to Tarnawska, there is a threat that foreign fans might boycott Euro 2012 in Ukraine: "We have opened three Web sites – two in France and one in Switzerland, which have started calling for a boycott the Euro 2012 in Ukraine. The sites are planning to post the appeals to travel agencies, football players, officials, politicians and, certainly, UEFA to boycott the event in Ukraine."

"These Web sites will do their negative work, I am sure," the animal rights activist said.