Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)

** Racha Update – Sunday 24^th August **

Early this morning, campaigners were present in Racha.

During the early morning, information came through from these campaigners that the planned killings for today have been stopped.  This was excellent news for us all, but we now have to be very careful over the coming days as it is very possible that those who were not able to shoot and kill the animals today may attempt to poison the animals in the coming days.

Reports from campaigners say that there are around 15 male dogs and 15 male cats on the streets in Racha.  So allowing for the norm of 15 minutes to sterilise each animal, ALL of these male dogs and male cats could be sterilised within 7 to 8 hours.  As a result, the males would not father new litters of puppies and kittens to be born and populate the streets of Racha.

Many people in Serbia are asking why is it that the authorities cannot understand this very simple and logical reasoning ?.  If even one or two animals escape and survive being killed by the hunters during one of these planned culls, by not being sterilised, these animals will then have the ability to produce very many more offspring in the future, which is what nobody wants.  This means that in the future there would be more killing, more males escaping the killing, producing more offspring etc, etc, etc.  It is not rocket science but the authorities do not seem to be able to understand that by sterilising all the (male) animals in the area to start with, then there is NO possibility of future generation street animal offspring being produced.

And as stated, this whole procedure of sterilisation for all male animals could be done in one DAY   !

The only sensible and logical way therefore for progress of controlling animal numbers in villages and towns such as Racha, is for a ‘No Kill’ sterilisation strategy to be implemented, and the positive way forward for this to happen is well known – the authorities  must collaborate with NGO’s  who know the correct and lawful way to controlling animal numbers.

The authorities policy of killing animals forever more is no solution to this animal population ‘problem’ they have – No Kill sterilisation is the only way to reduce animal numbers long term for the future.

Thank You to everyone who has responded so quickly about the situation in Racha, sending e mails etc.  The place is being monitored to see if any action (such as poisoning) is taken against the animals, details of which have now been recorded.  If it is found to be the case that animals have been poisoned or killed in any other way, then the campaign as seen this past weekend, which has included informing all MEP’s of the situation, will be continued for as long as necessary until a no kill strategy is accepted and undertaken by the ministry and authorities.  Official charges as per those undertaken over the last few days will be reviewed and undertaken again in future if considered necessary.

Everyone on the campaign side is prepared to continue with these issues/campaigns for as long as is necessary.

Thanks to everyone for your excellent support over these past few days.  We now wait to see what the next move will be in Racha.

Questions have to be asked about Rabies.  Are animals in regions just being labelled as having rabies so that a mass kill can be undertaken without the need for better management programmes ?, or do all the animals being killed actually have rabies ?

Possibly the authorities could provide evidence to the NGO’s to support their attitude that all animals are rabies carriers.  If there is nothing to hide, then the NGO’s look forward to being supplied with the written evidence to support the claims from the authorities.

Please keep checking for future updates and actions which may be necessary.

Thank You for your very rapid support – which may be needed again soon.

Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, SERBIA (Central Serbia: Capital - Belgrade) and (Serbia | Leave a comment »