By Rachel Treisman, NPR
First Eurovision, then the Paralympics and now … cat exhibitions.
Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe), an international cat federation with members in about 40 countries, is banning Russian cats from its competitions for the next three months, joining the growing global backlash to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
FIFe announced this week that it is enacting certain restrictions on cats bred in Russia and belonging to exhibitors who live there, citing the mass destruction and civilian fatalities caused by what it called Russia’s “unprecedented act of aggression.”
“The Board of FIFe feels it cannot just witness these atrocities and do nothing,” it added.
As of Tuesday, no cats bred in Russia may be imported and registered in any FIFe pedigree book outside Russia, and no cats belonging to exhibitors living in Russia may enter any FIFe shows outside the country.
The restrictions are valid through the end of May and will be reviewed as necessary, officials said.
The organization describes itself as “the United Nations of Cat Federations,” representing more than 100,000 individual members. It organizes more than 700 shows per year exhibiting more than 200,000 cats, according to its website. FIFe is officially headquartered in Luxembourg.
