As countries and major corporations sanction Putin and seek to cut his regime off from the international marketplace, there's another group apparently looking to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine: the Fédération Internationale Féline - or International Federation of Cats.
Calling themselves "the United Nations of cat federations" according to The Washington Post, the group announced a ban on cats from Russia in its organization and competitions.
Russian cats banned from shows. pic.twitter.com/wKgmp78rKt
— Marci ???????????? (@mysticmeance) March 3, 2022
In a statement published on its cat-filled website, the executive board said it is "shocked and horrified" by Putin's invasion:
The FIFe Executive Board is shocked and horrified that the army of the Russian Federation invaded the Republic of Ukraine and started a war. Many innocent people died, many more are wounded and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are forced to flee their homes to save their lives. We can all witness the destruction and chaos caused by this unprecedented act of aggression.
On top of that our Ukrainian fellow feline fanciers are desperately trying to take care of their cats and other animals in these trying circumstances. We are extremely happy that many members of FIFe clubs bordering Ukraine, such as Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova, are lending a helping hand to their Ukrainian breeder friends.
The Board of FIFe feels it cannot just witness these atrocities and do nothing, so it decided that as of 01.03.2022:
? No cat bred in Russia may be imported and registered in any FIFe pedigree book outside Russia, regardless of, which organization issued its pedigree.
? No cat belonging to exhibitors living in Russia may be entered at any FIFe show outside Russia, regardless of, which organization these exhibitors hold their membership in.
These restrictions are valid until 31.05.2022 and will be reviewed as and when necessary.
The Board of FIFe also decided that it will dedicate a part of its budget to support cat breeders and fanciers in Ukraine who are suffering because of the current situation. We will consult our Ukrainian FIFe Member Ukrainian Felinology Union (UFU), as well as our Members in countries neighbouring Ukraine, as to how this can best be done.
We hope for the sake of our Ukrainian friends that this terrible situation will not last a lot longer and we wish them a lot of courage and good fortune!
But sidelining Russian cats from international competitions is just the latest in a string of only symbolic actions that don't do much of anything to punish Putin. Unless perhaps an uprising among Russia's cat ladies would threaten Putin enough to get him to withdraw his troops from Ukraine?
Barring Russian literature from dead authors; barring Russian athletes; removing Russian cats from competition; destroying vodka that’s not from Russia - This is wasteful and insignificant behavior which will propagate undue hate on the people not response for Putin’s evil.
— Chef Andrew Gruel (@ChefGruel) March 3, 2022
For its part, Ukrainians have been asking for American and European companies to take more concrete action to cut all ties with Russia.
Did you know that European, American, British companies still make $700m daily by trading with Russia? Write to an international company of your choice: oil and gas, car manufacturers, investment funds, retailers etc. Demand them to cut all ties with Russia. More: @Boycott_RU pic.twitter.com/kQM8TkqFl3
— Ukraine / ??????? (@Ukraine) March 1, 2022