"Like on a safari in the prairies." A man will be tried in the Urals for shooting a dog without reason.

      In Verkhnyaya Pyshma, a pensioner will be tried for shooting a dog with a rifle without any reason in the gardening association "Zvezdochka." The indictment has been approved by the prosecutor's office of Verkhnyaya Pyshma against a resident of Sredneuralsk, born in 1959, the press service of the Sverdlovsk region prosecutor's office reported on Friday.

      According to the investigation, in November 2025, the accused, possessing an unspecified smoothbore shotgun, arrived in the gardening association "Zvezdochka" in Verkhnyaya Pyshma in his personal Chevrolet Niva. Near one of the plots, he tracked a dog of an unspecified breed, light beige in color, opened the driver's side window, and shot the animal.

      Residents of the gardening association reacted to the moans of the bleeding dog. They took the animal to a veterinary clinic. During a computed tomography scan, it was found to have a comminuted fracture of the 5th thoracic vertebra, multiple injuries to the right scapula and thoracic vertebrae, with spinal cord damage.

      Shortly thereafter, despite the treatment, the dog died. The man has been charged under part 1 of article 245 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (cruelty to animals). The criminal case will be sent to the Verkhnyaya Pyshma City Court for consideration on the merits. During the preliminary investigation, the accused did not admit guilt. He denies being present in the gardening association during that period.