Campaign Update 4/3/15 – Where have all the Svilajnac City dogs gone ?

Petition link:

https://www.change.org/p/mayor-of-svilajnac-predrag-milanovic-predsednik-svilajnac-rs-stoppt-die-hundefänger-stop-dog-catcher?recruiter=7882471&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=des-lg-no_src-no_msg

Goran and Slavica are following up the situation at Svilajnac in Serbia regarding all the dogs that vanish from the authority facility (called a ‘shelter’ – some shelter !) that they are taken to after capture by the catching teams.  Investigations here are ongoing.

In the meantime, SAV have written to the EU Enlargement Head asking her to make contact with the Mayor of Svilajnac to ask where all the captured dogs have actually gone.  This formal request will be used as evidence.

According to what we know,

– Many of these animals end up in a so-called ‘shelter’ where we are certain that they die under suspicious circumstances after 2-3 days.

– Many of the captured dogs just ‘disappear’.

From our information, it is alleged by the authorities that the dogs have been vaccinated, neutered and released.

But many years experience being involved with the Serbian authorities, and most importantly, the fact that none of the taken dogs have ever surfaced anywhere again; leads us to believe that the dogs are being killed within a few days from capture and arrival at the ‘shelter’.

Serbia has a ‘NO KILL law’ and we now demand that the Serbian guidelines are observed with respect to the Serbian Animal Welfare Act.

We have asked the EU representatives to ask the authorities in Svilajnac why they are not obeying the EU / Serbian ‘rule of law’ as required by the EU for new accession states by enforcing their own Serbian animal welfare act.

If the authorities do not enforce / are not enforcing the ‘rule of law’ under the Act then they are not meeting accession requirements of the EU accession states.

We have also asked for details of the whereabouts of all the captured dogs.

All of us appeal to the Mayor of the Svilajnac city to end this cruelty to animals with immediate effect.

Finally, we have asked for information and to know the whereabouts of all the dogs have been caught in the past 2 months.

In this post you will see photographs of some of the captured dogs that were taken to the shelter, and which have gone missing since.

Of particular interest as one example, is a Golden Retriever which you can see was befriended out on the street.  Later pictures show the very same dog at the ‘shelter’  facility after capture.  We do not know what happened to it after this; but this is typical of the questions we are now asking for futher investigation.

If as the authorities are claiming; the dogs have been ‘vaccinated, neutered and released’; then we ask where is this particular dog who was known from the streets ? – it has not been seen since it was photographed at the ‘shelter’ !

Update 5/3/15 –

The dogcatchers belong to a private firm called ‘AvenijaMB’ from Vrnjacka Banja, Novo Selo.  It has facilities for 80 dogs caught on the streets; but has made contracts with no less than 23 authorities in three parts of central Serbia.

A formal Charge has been made now by EPAR against AvenijaMB and also against the Republic Veterinary Inspector who produced a report of the situation, which seems very different to the reality !  The transfer of captured dogs from one region to another authority is not permitted.

Every single community must have its own NO KILL shelter according to the law.

It should also have its own zoo hygiene company which should be responsible for both the control of irresponsible animal (public) owners and which must also produce a programme of control for the stray animals in that area.

Both the killing, and the throwing out onto the streets of CNR (Catch, Neuter and Release) are forbidden according to the law.  After they are captured, animals must be sterilised and microchipped; and then kept at the shelter until they are either rehomed or they die a natural death.

There have been several instances where recently the Ministry of Agriculture has presented the idea of changing the law so that animals caught can be killed after just 30 days.  But they have been fought hard by the animal welfare groups and it can be considered that for now at least this idea is dead.

Only responsible ownership of public owned animals, combined with the shelter captured animals sterilisation and rehoming programme are considered by many to be the positive way forward.  This is what the law demands; but unfortunately for the animals, it is very much different to what happens at shelters operated by the private companies.  The situation above being just one example.

Goran has provided further pictures (see below) of the Golden Retriever which you can see was befriended out on the street, caught, and then ended up in the shelter.  We are convinced that this is just one of many dogs which have been killed at the ‘shelter’.

Where now is this Golden Retriever and all the other dogs captured in Svilajnac City and taken to the so-called ‘shelter’ (see the above photographs of the same dog) ?? – from what we can find out; they have simply vanished; but according to the authorities, all the dogs have been vaccinated, neutered and released.  So, if this is the case, where are they now ?

– they dont seem to be back on the streets !

Who does one believe ?

Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, GLOBAL PETITIONS - Anything Animal, Anywhere !, LETTERS, PHOTOGRAPHS - **WARNING** (Animal Suffering), SERBIA (Central Serbia: Capital - Belgrade) and (Serbia, SHINTERS (Dog catchers), The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »