There’s no doubt that workers at a trash sorting facility in Ulyanovsk, Russia occasionally come across interesting things. It’s more rare, however, for them to have the opportunity to save a life. Thanks to surveillance video that has since gone viral, we can see that’s exactly what happened when Mikhail Tukash found a cat trapped inside a plastic bag that was headed toward a deadly trash separator.
According to Reuters, it’s Tukash’s job to open bags that go past on a conveyor belt and check them for metal. But a few days before Christmas, he found a bag that had something much more valuable hidden inside.
“I felt something soft inside the bag. I cut the bag open slightly, and I saw eyes looking back at me.”
A pair of scared-looking eyes is likely the last thing Tukash expected to find at the sorting facility. But once he realized what he found, he reached into the bag and carefully pulled out a very scared, beat-up looking feline.
Surveillance video shows the exact moment Tukash found the cat.
Кота в завязанном мешке обнаружили на мусоросортировочном комплексе по обработке ТКО в Ульяновске. Он мог бы попасть в сепаратор, если бы не бдительность одного из работников.
Видео: vk/gorkomhoz73 pic.twitter.com/HO2ExUJpEn
— ТАСС (@tass_agency) December 22, 2020
The fact that the cat was trapped inside a plastic bag that was tied shut confirms that this was not an accident. It was an act of extreme cruelty, and if it wasn’t for Tukash, the cat would have died after going through machinery at the sorting facility. Thankfully, the cat is in generally good health. He was hungry and scared, but his new friends are already ensuring he receives the best possible care from here on out.
There’s unfortunately no way of knowing who is responsible for the crime, but Tukash and members of the city’s Ministry of Environment made sure the cat’s journey of terror came to an end. In fact, they’ve even offered the cat a job.
Reuters reports that the Ministry of Environment honored Tukash with a letter of appreciation and ended up adopting the cat. The ministry is currently running a competition with the public to decide on a name for the feline survivor, and in the meantime, they’ve bestowed upon him the title of Deputy Environment Minister.
So far, the cat has a cushy job of napping and keeping fellow employees company. After what this cat has gone through, he definitely deserves a lifetime of rest and relaxation.
