Posted on June 12, 2017 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
This is typical of the problems so many animal welfare organisations in Serbia have with authorities. They try to do everything correctly and every time the authorities and government just want to threaten them and take further actions, with the constant threat of closing them down and turning animals back onto the streets; or simply taking them and killing them all.
We are being informed of ongoing updates to this situation. At present we are not becoming directly involved as many supporting groups from Austria, Germany, France, Slovenia and Switzerland are already involved. We will add out voice if necessary.
I am writing you in the hope that you can help us to realize our rights and protect the rights of those who cannot do it for themselves. We have, since 2013, been running a ”Lassie dog shelter” project, designed as a temporary shelter for the most vulnerable dogs without a home, with no intention at all to work in the field of veterinary and utility services of zoo hygiene or anything similar to that, providing emergency accommodation for dogs instead. In addition to that, we have worked on educating the population and spayed/neutered a large number of privately-owned dogs and cats.
During these four years we have been trying to resolve the administrative part of the whole story, we have finally reached the end, the most disputable moment was that of legalization of facilities, we have submitted complete documentation, paid due fees per square meter of facilities, etc. … In any case, the local government REFUSES to issue us a decision on legalization. As to his political opponent, the president of the municipality has, in public, before witnesses, told me that as long as he was in office, I would not get that decision. It is, directly, an obstruction for me in the process of registering the dog shelter with the Ministry of Agriculture, and he knows it.
On the other hand, he keeps sending a municipal inspector who sends us to a magistrate and that goes on in circles. In this way, the local government hinders us from registering the dog shelter although it meets all the legal requirements and we have paid all the fees.
I am sending you this link so that you know what it is that we do.
Austria, Germany, France, Slovenia and Switzerland have participated in this project, we are the only ones in the Balkans who do this.
The Croats and the Macedonians have similar projects, working with cats, and we are the only ones who work with dogs.
Of course, as it often goes in the province, all the local self-government does about the problem of abandoned animals is either done the way it used to be done back in 1946, or contrary to the Constitution, the law and common sense.
The local government has an unlawful contract with “Avenija MB“, a firm from Vrnjacka Banja which is 700 km away from Bač, to provide veterinary and utility services of zoo hygiene. A large number of animals and a lot of money dissapear. My concern is that I would like our project to succeed, so that three or four years of joint efforts of a number of dog protection associations from several European countries do not, just like that, remain burried under a bunch of bureaucratic negligence and forgotten.
Thank you in advance for any advice or contact details of institutions or persons that could help us. Thank you for your time.
Posted on June 10, 2017 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Well it has been absolutely disastrous for the Conservative Party to hold a (national) election. PM Mrs May wanted to increase her majority so that she could move forward into Brexit negotiations next week with a strong majority. Instead she scored a huge own goal and actually lost many MP’s – not because of Brexit but because the British public could not stand some of her new (proposed) policies
A return to a free vote (as wished by Mrs May) in the House to bring back hunting was one such topic. As a result of this self inflicted own goal – (she did not have to have an election for another 3 years) – Mrs May’s future as the Prime Minister is now in doubt.
See the following article from the Telegraph – which is one of the most Conservative supporting newspapers in the UK:
So hopefully with all this trouble and now less MP’s rather than more (to try and get a hunting supportive majority); it now looks as if hunting will remain banned and that the ‘Vinny’ campaign by the LACS was effective.
See here what the ‘League Against Cruel Sports (LACS)’ views on it all are:
On what is quite a remarkable day for British politics, we just wanted to say thank you.
As someone who cares about animals, you have played a major role in this election campaign.
If you Voted for Vinny to contact your candidates, you were one of many who made sure that those standing for election knew exactly how strong feeling is on our key issues. In fact, around 85,000 emails were sent to candidates! Many of those candidates told us that they received more communication about hunting than any other issue.
Vinny himself toured the country from one end to the other. We understand that some people didn’t really like the campaign – all the best campaigns are a bit ‘Marmite’ in that they are loved or hated! – but it did enable us to reach out to people beyond our normal supporter base. The more people who understand how vile hunting really is, the more will join us in ensuring that it is never made legal again.
Alongside the Votes for Vinny campaign we continued our usual work in the media and in Parliament. Our polling showing that 84% of the public are opposed to legalising fox hunting was published everywhere. We know that some pro-hunting candidates publicly switched their position, potentially because of this work.
We also commissioned a poll which showed that half of all voters would switch their vote to a candidate of another party if the local candidate from their preferred party was pro-repeal. That’s quite a devastating figure when you consider how close the election was. This information will help us understand the scale of the threat against the Hunting Act.
Other polling showed that hunting was one of the most talked about issues of the entire election, second only to social care. Hunting was truly a hot topic, and I firmly believe the League can take a lot of credit for keeping it in the public eye.
But to the future – what will the election result mean? Honestly, we don’t know yet!
There is a chance that hunting has become so toxic that no government will touch it for a while. But there is also the threat of an attempt to re-write environmental legislation – including the Hunting Act. Meanwhile, the hunters who continue to defy the law will be out and about– starting with cub hunting season in just a few weeks.
Our work continues, and we continue to rely on your support. This election could be a turning point for animals. But there is so much more we can achieve together in bringing cruel sport to an end –who knows what mountains we can climb.
So once again, from Vinny and all the other animals you’re helping – thank you!
Posted on June 9, 2017 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Spring is now quickly turning into summer and keeping a cat shelter with around 130 residents going is still a full-time job and then some.
All of the cats are fed wet canned food once a day and then their dishes need to be thoroughly washed and filled with kibble alongside bowls of clean drinking water that are kept full all day long. T
he litter boxes that are kept inside and the two spacious outdoor litter boxes have to be cleaned two times a day, the floors of the cats’ rooms are being washed every morning and all of the kitty beds and pillows are shaken out. The chronically ill cats are constantly being given drugs and require being fed a veterinary diet; moreover, taking the sick kitties to the vet every day has already become a routine.
All in all, the expenses of keeping the shelter afloat are enormous and donations (which are usually few and far between) aren’t able to cover even a significant part of the sum needed every single month. We are forced to ask, beg and plead for help to purchase the canned wet cat food regularly, as we spend around 600 euros on wet cat food alone every month. Also, there is a worker who comes to the shelter twice a day and needs to be paid 200 euros per month, and in the case that we couldn’t afford to pay for her valuable and hard work, there would be no way to keep the shelter as clean as it is right now. We’ve exhausted our personal resources a long time ago, so now the shelter relies on the generosity of cat lovers from all over the world. If we are going to survive, we simply have to raise 800 euros each and every month for the maintenance of the shelter kitties.
Please, consider a donation of any amount and make a difference in their lives today! Every little bit really means a lot!
A couple of days ago, we first learned of Ebony’s existence from an e-mail we received which said that she was a young and cuddly stray that had been hit in the street and had “some broken bones” in the pelvic area, but the person who had found her couldn’t take care her for much longer, so we were supposed to step in.
The first news we received when we talked to the vet wasn’t good, as the X–ray exam showed that Ebony had a spinal fracture, several broken vertebrae and a dislocated pelvis. However, by the time we got to the ambulance to see her, she was able to stand up on all four legs and even took a few unsteady steps. Her spinal fracture is old, caused by either a hard blow she may have received when she got hit by a car or she even could have been kicked by somebody, and it’s highly probable that the same thing happened to her again when her pelvis got dislocated, as it’s usually the result of a traumatic injury.
In order to recover, Ebony will need at least eight weeks of cage rest, high quality cat food (she isn’t exactly in great shape at the moment) and Gabagamma capsules given regularly as a supplement. Luckily for her, she tested negative for FIV/FeLV.
If you could help us cover the costs of Ebony’s care please do so!
This tiny kitty girl and everyone here would be sincerely grateful!
Above – Help us get essential repairs done with a donation please !
Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) 