The Rustavi District Prosecutor's Office has filed charges against a 60-year-old man for animal cruelty, which is punishable by one year’s community service or a fine determined by the court, for allegedly killing a dog.

On 16 June 2017, the man, who has not been named, is alleged to have beaten the dog to death with a plank of wood with nails attached.

According to Netgazeti, the Prosecutor's Office has asked that the court impose a bail of ₾5,000 ($2,000) before trial.

Local news outlet Info Rustavi has reported that the reason was that the dog had bitten the man 4 year previously.

Animal rights activists rallied in front of the Rustavi Prosecutor's Office on 9 June demanding that proper punishment be imposed, with some saying he should be made an example to others.

Teimuraz Tsikoridze, chairman of the Georgian Animal Protection and Rescue Society, told Rustavi 2 that there is no real will to punish people who commit crimes against animals.

Tsikoridze raised a recent case in which the bodies of 10 dogs were discovered on Tbilisi’s Didgori Street; there were 4 puppies left in a box next to them.

When police arrived at the scene, they did not conduct an investigation, simply taking the bodies to be destroyed.

The Institute for development of Freedom of Information, a Tbilisi-based NGO, claims that most cases of violence against animals are not properly recorded or investigated by the authorities. According to the group's research, the greatest number of investigations of animal cruelty were launched in the 2015–2016, with 21 cases were launched in 2015 and 15 in 2016.

According to activists, the killing of stray dogs and abandoning small puppies in bins is commonplace in Georgia.