Torture technology in the hands of the services? The series and Russia tested sonic weapons on dogs

The Serbian intelligence service BIA, in cooperation with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), tested sonic weapons on dogs, the Politico website reported on Thursday, citing documents from the Serbian government and intelligence.

The Serbian authorities conducted experiments with the so-called sonic cannons two weeks after an anti-government demonstration in Belgrade was disrupted by a strong and sudden sound that the protest participants considered a sonic weapon.

On March 15, 2025, during one of the largest demonstrations in Serbian history, on the main boulevard of Belgrade there was a sudden, deafening noise, forcing protesters to disperse. Demonstrators arriving at emergency rooms in Belgrade reported nausea, vomiting, headaches and dizziness.

The authorities rejected accusations of using sonic weapons, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced that “an investigation will be conducted and then all those responsible for such brutal lies will be held accountable.”

Tests on dogs

Two weeks after the protest, Serbian and Russian officials gathered a group of dogs at the Serbian intelligence agency's training ground to assess “the impact of emitters on biological objects.” Dogs were chosen as test subjects because of “their high sensitivity to acoustic effects,” according to Serbian intelligence and government documents cited by Politico.

The purpose of the tests was to assess whether the symptoms described by protesters were consistent with the effects of sound cannons.

The animals were treated with two models of long-range sound devicesproduced by one of the American companies; they had a range of 200, 150, 100, 50 and 25 meters – according to the documents. The models' data sheets indicate that they can emit sounds with an intensity of up to 150 decibels, which corresponds to the intensity of a jet engine taking off.

Politico – quoting documents – wrote that tests were performed without prior authorization to conduct such experiments.

Danilo Ciurczić, a Serbian lawyer, estimated that the dogs were “subjected to experimentation or abuse”, as defined in Serbia's Animal Welfare Act.

He explained that Serbian law requires prior registration of animal experiments and obtaining consent from the competent authorities, and expressly prohibits testing on animals as part of “testing of weapons and military equipment.”

In a report on experiments on dogs, the FSB emphasized: “During the transmission of basic and test signals, biological objects (dogs) did not feel any discomfort; the dogs were examined three days after the tests and no changes in their condition were observed.” (PAP)

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