A firestorm is brewing over the intentional and brutal killing last week of a brown bear in Yakutia, Siberia (also called the Sakha Republic of eastern Russia). The hapless creature was chased down and run over by two giant trucks operated by rotation workers from a nearby plant. For amusement. They even filmed the attack on a mobile phone and posted it to social media. The video has since gone viral and people are demanding accountability.
As the bear ran from the large multi-ton trucks, the deep snow made it impossible for him to get away. Exhausted, the bear finally stopped, which allowed the first vehicle to drive over the animal, back up, and do it again.
Still alive but wounded, the animal tried to escape. That was when a second truck ran over the struggling animal and trapped him under a front tire.
Making sure he was dead, a worker poked the animal’s head with a steel rod. Barely alive, they then used crowbars to bash him to death. In the video, you can hear the shouts and cheers from the cold-blooded murderers. One person was chanting, “Crush him! Do it!”
'Crush him! Do it!' Bear tortured & killed by workers with trucks in #Siberia (GRAPHIC) https://t.co/paHyvtjSZJ pic.twitter.com/0Op8XJ4iN0
— RT (@RT_com) December 28, 2016
Vicious torture
After the video was uploaded, outrage started brewing over the horrifying incident. The plant workers said they killed the bear as they feared for their safety.
But in the video the men were riding shotgun on two trucks and trying to run him over. Based on his size, the bear appeared well fed leading many to speculate he was deliberately awoken and driven from his den.
Just like Polar bears, these Animals can be scared away easily by noises, like the loud rumble of a truck’s tailpipe, which is what happened in this case.
Instead of letting him run away, they engaged in a vicious cycle of torture for their own amusement. One social media user called them “sadists” and “mentally ill people” for “boasting about their actions.”
It takes a coward to kill an innocent animal :-(
— WorldTruth.TV (@WorldTruthTV) December 27, 2016
Bear Tortured & Killed By Workers With Trucks in Siberia https://t.co/YwcYSeTicE
Another said that even if the bear did pose a danger, torturing him was unnecessary.
Others pointed out the animal wasn’t behaving aggressively, negating the need for the workers to kill him. Currently, the police are trying to find those involved in what they call ‘extreme animal cruelty.’ If found guilty, the men could end up in a Siberian prison for a maximum term of two years.
Bear deliberately chased by trucks and run over, then battered to death with crowbar: https://t.co/SdOat1tI2t via @YouTube
— News & Politics (@NewsPolitics16) December 28, 2016
Sacred animal
Sakha locals consider the bear a sacred animal and want the men in the video punished. Despite happening less than a few days ago, no one has been charged with the death of the animal. Sakhamin Afanasiev, the director of Nature Protection in the Sakha Republic, said he ordered the hunting department to investigate the animal’s death and take appropriate steps. “We will announce the results of the check,” he added.