Puppies Drowned and Their Bodies Hung From Trees.
Above – the fate of the poor Serbian strays – drowned and then hung from trees !
We give a full and detailed overview of Serbian animal welfare legislation on our sister site – ‘Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)’. – click on: https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/about-serbian-animals/ – and so as you can also see from the ‘Archives’ on the left of the same site; we have had a lot of past experience with illegal stray animal abuse (in Serbia) in the past.
We thus (2020) invited Serbian activists to give us some updates of the current situation for stray animals (dogs but also cats) in Serbia now; so that we can publish on this site; WAV, and also SAV. And so here is the first of the reports we have from Slavica at ‘EPAR -OIPA Serbia / Alliance for Nature Protection, the rights of animals and people’.
We need to make it clear to readers that Serbia is currently not a member state of the EU, but is a ‘Candidate Country’. As such it is given EU financial support at present. But there is no EU strategy or legislation for stray animals within EU member states anyway; something which welfare groups have been pressing the EU about, with no result, for many years.
As with most issues; especially those relating to animals, the EU simply passes the buck back to individual member states, declaring that it is their individual responsibility to undertake controls. So why do EU politicians exist we ask if they just hand issues back to member states ?
Stray animals, unlike livestock which is traded and sadly transported all over the EU constantly, do not make money for the nations in which they exist; thus they are of no real concern for EU legislators who are solely financially driven. We say what a very sad situation; as to us, all animal lives matter, be they prize bulls or stray dogs struggling to survive on the streets.
Financial contributions to the OIE – or the ‘World Organisation for Animal Health’; are made by all national member states around the world; and this includes Serbia. Thus, we would expect compliance with; or very close to, OIE strategy by member states regarding strays; sadly, Serbia does NOT follow this; irrespective of what is said.
The OIE web site can be found at: https://www.oie.int/
Here is the link to the missions of the OIE: https://www.oie.int/about-us/our-missions/
We would like to draw your attention to stray dog information published by the OIE:
https://www.oie.int/index.php?id=169&L=0&htmfile=chapitre_aw_stray_dog.htm
Article 7.7.5 states:
In the development of a dog population control programme it is recommended that the authorities establish an advisory group, which should include veterinarians, experts in dog ecology, dog behaviour and zoonotic diseases, and representatives of relevant stakeholders (local authorities, human health services/authorities, environmental control services/authorities, NGOs and the public). The main purpose of this advisory group would be to analyse and quantify the problem, identify the causes, obtain public opinion on dogs and propose the most effective approaches to use in the short and long term.
Important considerations are as follows:
- Identifying the sources of stray dogs
- Owned dogs that roam freely;
- dogs that have been abandoned by their owner, including puppies resulting from uncontrolled breeding of owned dogs;
- unowned dogs that reproduce successfully.
- vaccination against rabies and other preventive measures against zoonotic diseases, as appropriate;
- veterinary procedures (e.g. surgical procedures);
As we have always argued from our (SAV) founding in 2005; the capture and killing of stray dogs in Serbia; despite being illegal to kill health dogs; can be a very financially profitable business for some; whilst wrongfully misleading the public; tax paying citizens; that stray dog numbers are being controlled. It is called ‘corruption and deceipt’.
The reality is that the Serbian government and regional / local authorities do NOT want to undertake veterinary procedures as suggested in Article 7.7.5 (see above) such as sterilisations of strays, which would gradually reduce their numbers; as they (the authorities) desire a constant supply of ‘new’ stray animals to capture and kill; – thus, it is not financially profitable for them to reduce stray numbers; and thus reduce their financial gains to be made by the capture and killing of strays ! That is the reality of how the Serbian stray system works; animal abuse and suffering; leading to eventual death; solely for financial profit by those involved in the process.
As far as we are (still) aware, there is no ‘advisory group’ involving either the public or NGO’s in a population control programme anywhere within Serbia. In addition, the Serbian authorities; who appear to work on their own; using contractors, or ‘shinters’, have a simple policy of ‘kill and more kill’; whilst misleading the public that they have the situation under control. As such they do not follow any of the OIE suggested procedures mentioned above, such as ‘surgical procedures’ (sterilisation) in order to reduce stray animal population numbers over time. They simply continue to want an endless supply of strays; in order to kill endless numbers of strays; and make endless money from the process.
Read more at
https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/2016/03/19/serbia-mass-killing-of-stray-dogs-in-nis-serbia-a-pathetic-government-not-complying-with-the-law-inform-them-and-the-eu-now/
http://www.esdaw.eu/dogs—serbia.html
http://www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr/index.en.php?id=388
https://www.foxnews.com/world/flooded-with-stray-dogs-serbia-struggles-to-cope
2020 – We are currently aware that 3 private shinter firms’ – companies hired by local authorities in Serbia to ‘control’ dog numbers using illegal practices which are non-compliant with existing national animal welfare legislation, include Avenija MB – they have probably have killed up to 10,000 dogs in more than 60 Serbian cities by the means of illegal contracts with various city authorities. If NGO’s and the public were represented in these OIE suggested ‘advisory groups’ throughout the country in accordance with OIE stray management guidelines; we very much doubt that such mass killings (as the 10,000) would ever be allowed to happen. We think not very much !
Also, (2020) it has been alleged that in just one day, in more than 40 cities throughout Serbia, illegal mass poisonings have been undertaken again; most probably by shinters working under the private control and public misleading of local authorities. We understand that the illegal killings may have been undertaken using the ‘Kreozan’ poison.
Killing with Nuvan and Kreozan poisons. These cause death by suffocation to the animal after the following prolonged effects – headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, excessive sweating, salivation, blurred vision, tightness in the chest, weakness, muscle twitching, and confusion. Also convulsions, severe respiratory depression, unconsciousness, and eventual death. http://www.actionagainstpoisoning.com/CRY%20FOR%20HELP/serbiaT61/crySerbiaT61.html
In this post or the other still to be written and published, you will find copies of the recent letters sent by Serbian activists to the OIE. We ask you to make of the letters to the OIE what you read – and several examples of non compliances by authorities with the current Serbian animal welfare laws are given.
Finally for this post; to become a member state of the EU. The enforcement of ‘the rule of law’ is a requirement for nations wishing to join. Serbia is NOT enforcing its own laws; and as such there is currently no reason why it should be allowed to join the EU. We think in the end the EU will conveniently ignore such things as animal welfare legislation and welcome Serbia into ‘the club’ regardless of its non compliances.
As for dogs hung from trees, we will be publishing a second part to this post to provide you with more about the situation in Serbia. For animals living on the streets; trying to survive at the best of times, they require initiatives that will help them; not have authorities who just want to make money by destroying them. This is currently the way in Serbia. Change will only come from within; when Serbian taxpayers recognise where their money is being wasted on a kill policy rather than a sterilisation policy to reduce numbers forever. Money that is wasted catching and killing dogs should be put into a policy of national long term sterilisation and welfare improvements for the animals – complying with the existing laws.
Changes sometimes take long times to happen; for animals in Serbia the change cannot come soon enough !
Regards Mark
Bandit is sweet and affectionate, but they rejected him as disabled.
Darrell and Sue Rider meeting Bandit.
“We knew what Bandit needed. And we also feel a much deeper connection than anyone else would have with him. “
Darrell also lives in a wheelchair. No one better than him to understand what that dog feels and needs.
World Animals Voice 