Media: Police forces deploy to Russian village protesting livestock seizures PHOTO / VIDEO

A column of law enforcement officers arrived in Kozikha, a village in Russia’s Novosibirsk region, where residents had protested against the confiscation of livestock, Telegram channel Sibirsky Express reports, citing eyewitnesses.

“So far, there is no information that authorities have begun seizing animals,” the outlet noted.

Local farmers had previously been fined 12,000 rubles each and charged under Article 20.2.2 for organising mass gatherings that disrupted public order. They had attempted to stop the equipment brought to dig burial pits for the animals, according to the Telegram channel ASTRA.

Darya Mironenko, daughter of a local farmer, said the fines for six farmers were paid through a nationwide fundraising effort to support Kozikha residents. “Many families have three or four children, and the decree gives 10 days for payment—no one wants to end up in prison,” she said. The fundraiser collected over 500,000 rubles.

Earlier, farmers from seven villages in the district recorded a video appeal to Vladimir Putin, asking him to protect their livestock from confiscation. Residents insist the animals appear healthy and have not undergone blood or milk testing.

Authorities justified the culling by citing an outbreak of pasteurellosis—a disease transmissible from animals to humans—as well as rabies. Similar livestock destruction is reportedly underway in other parts of the region.

By Jeyhun Aghazada