Residents of Mariupol have to hunt pigeons due to acute food shortage, said Mayor of the city Vadym Boychenko.
Boychenko said in a statement on his Telegram channel that in order to survive, residents of the city, which is now occupied by russian troops, began to “set traps for pigeons.”
“People did the same during the famine of 1932-1933,” he said.
The Mayor called the crisis “a victimization of people who lived fulfilling lives before the war.“
“These terrible things are happening in the 21st century, in the heart of Europe, in front of the whole world. This is the genocide of the Ukrainian people caused by a terrorist state,” Boychenko added.
Olexandr Lazarenko, Center for Primary Health Care №3 in Mariupol, told about the dangers of eating pigeons:
“Pigeons are a breeding ground for many viral, bacterial and fungal infections. Due to this, the meat can be infected. You can get histoplasmosis, encephalitis, psittacosis, salmonellosis, toxoplasmosis and other dangerous diseases. Such diseases are especially dangerous for children and the elderly. In case of absence of proper medical care, they can even lead to death,” he explained.
Earlier, the Mayor's Adviser Andryushchenko said that the russian occupiers had begun an exhumation of Mariupol residents.