In Slonim district, officials came without warning to count the dogs kept by a well-known volunteer at her own expense

Volunteer Aksana Sauchuk is known not only to residents of Slonim but also to Belarusians across the country. The state channel ONT filmed a story about her several times, and "Slonimski Vesnik" wrote articles.

State media admired the kindness of the woman who dedicated her life to rescuing abandoned animals. Apparently, in March 2026, the attitude of local authorities towards Aksana Sauchuk changed.

On March 12, Aksana Sauchuk reported on her Instagram page that a commission, including representatives of the Slonim District Executive Committee and Housing and Communal Services, arrived at her place in the morning without prior notice. The purpose of the visit was to count the dogs kept on her property. The woman refused to let them onto the territory, stating that she considered such actions a violation of her rights as an owner.

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Publication by Aksana Sauchuk (@savchuk256)

Aksana Sauchuk claims that the visit was a result of numerous complaints from a neighbor. According to her, the neighbor has already sent several dozen complaints, citing unsanitary conditions, unpleasant smell, and a large number of animals.

She emphasizes that all her dogs are registered, and she herself helps homeless animals. According to her, the animals are with her temporarily — until new owners can be found for them.

“Officials come to a person, yes, who is engaged in volunteer activities, who pays two thousand in taxes, and all whose dogs are registered, do you understand? They come to count the dogs one by one! To my home, to a private house, to private property!” Aksana exclaims indignantly.

She stated that she has so many animals because there is no state temporary animal shelter in Slonim.

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Publication by Aksana Sauchuk (@savchuk256)

The woman explained her refusal to admit the commission by saying that the visit was unexpected, and the inspection conditions themselves were unorganized.

The woman disagrees with the claims regarding the sanitary condition of the property, noting that she lives in a rural area where the presence of odors associated with keeping animals is a common phenomenon.

Sauchuk stated that she has no intention of moving or giving up keeping animals. As a solution to the problem, she proposes developing a system of shelters and assistance in rehoming stray dogs.

Slonim District Executive Committee: "Necessity of bringing animal keeping in line with legislation"

The Slonim District Executive Committee reacted to her video. It published a statement on its social media:

“Since this situation has caused public outcry, we consider it important to clarify its background and actual circumstances.

The reason for the commission's visit was an official appeal received by the regional executive committee from a neighbor of this citizen. In his statement, the neighbor indicated that a large number of dogs are kept on the territory of the private household, which, according to his information, are not registered in the established manner, and in turn, such a large number of animals cause a lot of noise and an unpleasant smell.

It was decided to carry out a commission visit to the site. The purpose of the visit is to verify the facts outlined in the statement and, if violations of current legislation are found (including those concerning the registration and keeping of animals), to take appropriate measures.

However, at the time of the commission's arrival, access to the household territory for the performance of official duties was not provided by the resident. The owner justified her position by stating that the territory was not tidied at that moment.

In this situation, the commission members showed loyalty and offered the owner to specify a convenient time for her to receive the commission and provide access to inspect the territory and the animals kept there. To this proposal, the citizen replied that she needed to consult with a lawyer first.

It is telling that immediately after the commission's visit, the owner promptly contacted the rural executive committee and registered eight more dogs. This fact indirectly confirms the validity of the conducted inspection and the need to bring animal keeping in line with the legislation.

Currently, the situation remains under control. Further actions will be taken in accordance with legal norms and within the established regulations for working with citizens' appeals.”

Previously, officials had no complaints against Aksana Sauchuk, they thanked her

On the same day Aksana Sauchuk published the video, she attached in a separate post the response from the Housing and Communal Services Department of the Grodno Regional Executive Committee dated February 27 to her appeal to Lukashenka's administration.

In it, she asked to reduce her animal keeping tax. In the letter, officials expressed gratitude to Aksana Sauchuk and had no complaints, but refused assistance: "current legislation does not provide for the financing of volunteer activities."

Regarding the creation of an animal shelter in Slonim district, it was reported that in Slonim in 2025, state procurement procedures were repeatedly conducted to select a contracting organization for the development of project documentation for the facility "Construction of a temporary animal shelter at Anishchyk Street, 90 in Slonim". However, due to the lack of participants, the state procurement procedure did not take place.

“The Housing and Communal Services Department of the regional executive committee expresses its gratitude for your active work in helping neglected, abandoned, and lost animals. Thank you for your sensitivity, responsiveness, and compassion. We hope that your good deeds will become an example for many people,” the letter states.

Aksana Sauchuk read the statement from the Slonim District Executive Committee. In new videos and posts, she asked concerned Belarusians to help her pay her debts to veterinary clinics and taxes for keeping pets.

Aksana Sauchuk also said that she continues to receive calls from Housing and Communal Services asking her to take abandoned animals they find on the streets of Slonim. But at the same time, they are not ashamed to come to her with inspections to count her pets.

Aksana Sauchuk's subscribers express their support for her and criticize the officials. There are hundreds of comments under her posts and videos.

• “I understand that you still need to register all of them. Which means paying taxes for all of them. Ugh, no words.”

• “If it's a tax to the state, then it's mandatory, but if it's about making an effort and helping to reduce the tax, then no.”

• “Thank you for your sensitivity, responsiveness, and compassion, but pay the tax. Hahaha… A constructive solution to the problem.”

• “Instead of the entire executive committee coming to thank Aksana for doing their job, helping her clean the territory, and deciding to reduce the tax on other people's dogs, they are simply mocking her!”

• “Disgusting. Why did I see this. Here, they should at least not interfere, but no, they're putting spokes in the wheels. And why do volunteers pay taxes? They are doing what a civilized state should be doing.”

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