Police have refused to open a case against an Anapa resident who sent his female donkey parasailing over the Sea of Azov because a veterinarian found the animal to be “clinically healthy,” RIA-Novosti reported Friday.
The Criminal Code only allows charges of animal abuse — punishable with two years in prison or fines of up to 80,000 rubles ($2,630) — in cases where the animal is maimed or killed.
Brigitte Bardot, a French actress-turned-animal rights activist, sent a letter Friday to Prosecutor General Yury Chaika, asking him to punish the people responsible for the donkey's flight, Interfax reported.
It was unclear how Bardot, 75, had reacted to the Krasnodar region police's refusal to press charges against the unidentified owner.
The incident took place on a beach of the Golubitskaya village on July 15. The donkey spent half an hour parasailing, braying in fear during the ride.
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