Bosnia and Herzegovina: BOSNIA ABOUT TO IMPLEMENT KILL LAW – Please Take Action Now – Limited Time !

Bosnia and herzegovina

Bos hertz  dog 7Bos Hertz Dog 1

 http://inmemoryofvucko.org/2013/10/04/bosnia-about-to-implement-kill-law/

 BOSNIA ABOUT TO IMPLEMENT KILL LAW!

Posted on October 4, 2013

BOSNIA IS ABOUT TO IMPLEMENT A KILL LAW THAT REPLICATES WHAT IS HAPPENING IN ROMANIA. TO STOP THIS LAW COMING INTO EFFECT THE NEXT TWO WEEKS ARE CRITICAL.

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It is crucial that everyone, especially in Europe, lobby their embassy and MEPs. We need to keep the momentum, with press, meetings, lobbying and letters.

On Thursday the 3rd of October the Bosnia-Herzegovina Parliament held a debate on whether or not to change the existing animal welfare law to allow ‘euthanasia’ of dogs held in shelters for more than 14 days without adoption (see below if you think this is an effective means to curb stray populations).

Those opposing the change in the debate (local representatives from Dogs Trust, various pro-animal NGOs, ordinary citizens, veterinary experts from the Veterinary Faculty, professors, lawyers) took more room and were in all ways more articulate. See this article on Klix.ba (Serbo-Croatian, you can google translate The problem of street dogs in Bosnia and Herzegovina: The solution is in registration, sterilization, and Punishment.)

However, the government representatives and in particular SDP representative Nermina Zaimović Uzunović (who originally presented a Bill on changes and amendments to the Animal Welfare and Protection Act at the assembly on July 6 2013) behaved as if they heard none of the facts, explanations of the cause of the problem and how to remedy the problem.

It will be hard to keep the law as is. The next 2 weeks are critical.

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We are drafting a new petition on change.org but cannot post final up until early next week. There are existing petitions you can sign below.

But what is important right now is to lobby your embassy representative in Bosnia and at home and your EU Member of Parliament.

Write a PERSONAL, POLITE LETTER asking them to strongly urge the Bosnia-Herzegovina government to not change the law but instead to start actually implementing it! (For a full translation of the existing law, please download this PDF.)

A DRAFT LETTER CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE (word document). PLEASE PERSONALISE, ADD YOUR NAME AT THE BOTTOM AND THE NAME OF THE PERSON YOU ARE SENDING IT TO AT THE TOP.

See here to find your Embassy in Bosnia-Herzegovina:
http://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-in/bosnia-and-herzegovina
There is also a listing of some of the Embassies on the
ACTION TO TAKE
page.

Find your MEP and write a personal letter to them as well.
See here to find any MEP in Europe –  
Euromap.

Also on the  ACTION TO TAKE page there are further links and suggestions of particular MEPs to write to. Make sure to end your letter with your name and contact details.

THE NEXT TWO WEEKS ARE CRITICAL.
We need to keep the momentum, with press, meetings, lobbying, letters.

A key member of the animal welfare lobby has stated:

“We need to play this smart, plan good timing for every action and save some ammunition for the days and weeks to come!”

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If you are from the UK, you can mention in your letter an incident concerning SDP representative Nermina Zaimović-Uzunović, the Member of House of representatives of Parliamentary Assembly who proposed amendments to the law.  Nermina Zaimović-Uzunovi said she was disappointed the discussion focused on Dogs Trust and their project (spay-neuter of 3000 strays in June 2013 in Sarajevo) which was financed by “the Queen” – and that Dogs Trust only worked in their own interest and this interest was financed by the “Queen”. Instead of acknowledging the good work done by Dogs Trust, and at great expense, she dismisses it, and certainly does not acknowledge that if her changes come into effect, the 3000 dogs sterilised by Dogs Trust will probably be killed. What a waste!

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If you have been reading this blog (see in particular this post, and this) you will know that to reverse or change the existing law (which, although not implemented, has an excellent basis for a humane management programme) for a kill law will be a disaster for a number of reasons, not least of which:

  • It will damage Bosnia-Herzegovina’s international image
  • It will fail
  • It will allow wholesale murder of stray dogs and cats

We already have documentation of how ‘shelters’ tend to ‘euthanise’ animals: by clubbing, injections of bleach and so on. So you can be sure that if the existing animal welfare law is changed, such means of ‘euthanisation’ will become commonplace.

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Also, the studies on management of stray dog and cat population are unanimous in that euthanisation is NOT the most effective way to control populations. Euthanasia deals only with the symptoms and not the cause of the problem. It is expensive, inhumane and will not provide a permanent solution. Studies have shown that TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) and CNR (Catch-Neuter-Return) programmes are far more effective (and far more humane) than euthanasia to reduce the street animal population. Please read this post for more information.

 

Please join the Facebook Event for latest news and updates:

STOP BOSNIA FROM IMPLEMENTING KILL LAW

PLEASE SIGN THE EXISTING PETITIONS (AND CHECK BACK NEXT WEEK FOR THE NEW PETITION).

RELATED POSTS ON THIS BLOG:


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DONATIONS
Funds are needed not only to help individual rescues and to help us keep safe the rescued dogs we are sponsoring but also to continue our advocacy work in Bosnia, uncovering the truth about what is happening there.

On our sister site, Animal Welfare Advocates for Bosnia, you can set up a monthly donation via PayPal, or if you want to make a one-off donation, please go to your PayPal account (or set one up, it’s very easy) and send the money to: donations@awabosnia.org  as a ‘gift’.

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EU / Romania: This woman is an insult to the name ‘EU Animal Welfare Intergroup’ – we want her out !

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Subject: This woman is an insult to the name ‘EU Animal Welfare Intergroup’ – we want her out !

 you are fired

buch shelter 5romania 1 oct 4romania 1 oct 1

Regarding the mass killing of strays in Romania;

Petition “The European Parliament’s Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals: Daciana Sarbu’s (the Romanian speech self-declared her as being unfit for office.

Please remove her from her position.” on Change.org.

This petition was started by Occupy for Animals on 4th of October, 2013. It is addressed to the Intergroup, the European Parliament, the European Commission, and it aims to have Madame Daciana Sarbu, one of the Vice President’s of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals and wife of Romania’s Prime Minister Victor Ponta, removed from her position.

It’s important considering that Romania are killing every dog in the country !. Will you sign it too? Here’s the link:

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/the-european-parliament-s-intergroup-on-the-welfare-and-conservation-of-animals-daciana-sarbu-s-speech-self-declared-her-as-being-unfit-for-office-please-remove-her-from-her-position?share_id=kRIwyefZXs&utm_campaign=signature_receipt&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition

Petition Wording:

This petition was started by Occupy for Animals on 4th of October, 2013. It is addressed to the Intergroup, the European Parliament, the European Commission, and it aims to have Madame Daciana Sarbu, one of the Vice President’s of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals and wife of Romania’s Prime Minister Victor Ponta, removed from her position.

The letter that is being send when you sign this petition, as well as the content compiled on our website, at: http://www.occupyforanimals.org/romania—daciana-sarbu-a-head-with-two-faces—one-face-smiling-at-the-death-bringers-the-other-face-smiling-at-the-protectors.html will explain why we believe that Madame Sarbu is not fit for office. 

Thank you, in advance, for signing our petition. 

romania 1 oct 3preg dog rom 1Romania guilty

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TO: The European Parliament’s Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals

Copy to: 
The European Parliament
The European Commission

SUBJECT: Madame Daciana Sarbu’s totally misinformed and erroneous statements self-declared her as being unfit for office as either a member of the Intergroup, let alone as Vice President and we would suggest you remove her from her position. 

Dear Sir / Madam,

The sun is slowly setting on the public’s respect for THE institution of Europe…

A horrified civilized world looks on as the country of Romania whose corrupt re-deployment of assigned public funds has consistently failed to introduce any humane strategy to control the homeless animal population such as has been achieved in every global civilized country.

The result is the legitimization of an ‘eradication’ policy which will result in the destruction of many hundreds of thousands of street animals. Destruction by traditional Romanian methods which include injection of substances, such as injecting with anti-freeze, battering with shovels, ADD TO LIST – like practiced in the past. Since the new “legislation”, the following methods – although not acceptable in any other European country – are now totally legal and even encouraged, such as the use of carbon dioxide, carbon oxide, potassium chloride, nitrogen, electric shocks, penetrating captive gun.

This policy was rapidly implemented due to the EMOTIONAL response of the population because of the death of a child ALLEGEDLY caused by homeless animals.

The civilized world watched in horror as this draconian policy passed through the Romanian parliamentary system. Appeals were made to the EU.

BUT the major body of Europe, whilst disagreeing with the policy… could do NOTHING. But society demands a better response than…. NOTHING! 

Not only did the two press releases from the Intergroup on the subject not impress or inspire anyone, but we listened in abject horror as a Vice-President of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals, Daciana Sârbu, during a recent exchange during an Intergroup meeting from 12th of September, 2013, identifies to the world that she is totally misinformed about policies and events over which her position demands knowledge.

The public now questions the expertise of those who represent them in the European Arena. Questions are now asked about what is ‘suitability for purpose’ of these non-elected representatives? Madame Sarbu’s delivery was profoundly unprofessionally uninformed. What qualifications does she have to command respect? In Romania there is an understanding that qualifications can be achieved by corrupt means. Was this the foundation of her acquiring such an elevated position? 

There are also things that just do not go well together, like:

being a Vice President of the Intergroup, a co-initiator of the Written Declaration on Dog Population Management 0026/2011,

the wife of Romania’s Prime Minister Victor Ponta; 

you are fired

– and do NOTHING in her own country to promote and implement a humane management of the stray animals populations like she has so brightly described in the WD 0026/2011;

– and keep a very neutral position when her input is most needed. Her neutral position being probably inspired by the attitude of her husband who also, throughout the scandal caused by the ‘slaughter law’, kept a very neutral position and refrained from openly telling if he was in favor of the euthanasia of stray dogs, or against. It was only in the 13th hour, October 3, 2013 that Mr Ponta made an ‘impressive’ statement: “There are two phases before the euthanasia: the adoption phase and the sterilization and keeping the dogs in the shelters. I would like, if we consider ourselves a civilized country, to use more the first two. This is my message and my signal”:

– and just stand by and watch as the tragedy is unfolding, bringing unnecessary suffering and death not only to animals but also to their protectors. In case you have missed it: three people have died so far and it’s only beginning. One can only stand and watch now and wait while the death count gets higher! We are waiting for the day that we will read with deep sorrow that a Romanian child has died of Carbofuran ingestion, which – as you know best is banned in the EU – but widespread in Romania. Daily are the reports of dogs found poisoned with Carbofuran and there are many necropsy reports that confirm this.

In light of the surprisingly misinformed content of Madame Sarbu’s speech from 12th of September, 2013, and her totally erroneous statements, as well as her continued absence from Intergroup involvement especially when a serious focus is placed on her country, we believe that Madame Sarbu is not fit for office as either a member of the Intergroup, let alone as Vice President and we would suggest you remove her from her position.

We, as the public who are represented, have challenged the ignorance within this exchange. And we would hope that you, who, of course, only want officials who exemplify the highest quality in seeking the best of interest for the animals and people of Europe, would agree with us that, after listening to her historic speech and reading our reflections, Madame Sarbu has no place in the Intergroup.

Madame Sarbu’s speech as well as other interesting information is compiled on our website, at: 
http://www.occupyforanimals.org/romania—daciana-sarbu-a-head-with-two-faces—one-face-smiling-at-the-death-bringers-the-other-face-smiling-at-the-protectors.html 

We thank you, in advance, for the time taken to read our message and for taking the necessary steps regarding Madame Sarbu’s unsuitability for purpose.


Yours,

[Signer’s name]