Re our recent post regarding dog killings in New Belgrade:
https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/serbia-dogcatchers-safari-in-new-belgrade-attack-on-human-and-dogs-life/
The situation, names and e mail addresses have now changed in Serbian politics.
These are the correct e mail addresses and persons associated with the killings – please contact them to express your concerns and disgust at what they are approving.
Minister of Agriculture of Serbia is Mr. Dusan Petrovic, office@minpolj.gov.rs
Mr. Zoran Micovic, is Director of Veterinary Department of Ministerium of Agriculture of Republic of Serbia. Mr. Zoran Marinkovic is the responsible officer for the Animal Welfare department of each Veterinary Department, vetuprava@minpolj.gov.rs
Mayor of Belgrade is Mr. Dragan Djilas, dragan.djilas@sbb.rs
Other block contacts:
omr@srbija.gov.rs, press@gov.rs, predsednikvladesrbije@gov.rs, kabinet.zpv@gov.rs, antikorupcija.savet@gov.rs, msp@mfa.rs, info@mod.gov.rs, info@mup.gov.rs, press@mfin.gov.rs, press@merr.gov.rs, mrkonjicm@mi.gov.rs, kabinet@mduls.gov.rs, info@mduls.gov.rs, kabinet@mp.gov.rs, office@mos.gov.rs, ministar@minrzs.gov.rs, pr_sluzba@minrzs.gov.rs, info@ekoplan.gov.rs, kabinet@kultura.gov.rs, kabinet@kim.gov.rs, info@mzd.gov.rs, kabinet@mbp.gov.rs, kancelarija@kornrp.gov.rs
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Block addresses for copy and paste and sending protests and sample letter are:
office@minpolj.gov.rs, vetuprava@minpolj.gov.rs, dragan.djilas@sbb.rs,
natasa.golubovic@beogradsg.org.rs, nacelnik@beograd.gov.rs, potpredsednik.prr@gov.rs,
kabinet@mpravde.gov.rs, omr@srbija.gov.rs, press@gov.rs, predsednikvladesrbije@gov.rs, kabinet.zpv@gov.rs, antikorupcija.savet@gov.rs, msp@mfa.rs, info@mod.gov.rs, info@mup.gov.rs, press@mfin.gov.rs, press@merr.gov.rs, mrkonjicm@mi.gov.rs, kabinet@mduls.gov.rs, info@mduls.gov.rs, kabinet@mp.gov.rs, office@mos.gov.rs, ministar@minrzs.gov.rs, pr_sluzba@minrzs.gov.rs, info@ekoplan.gov.rs, kabinet@kultura.gov.rs, kabinet@kim.gov.rs, info@mzd.gov.rs, kabinet@mbp.gov.rs, kancelarija@kornrp.gov.rs
SAMPLE LETTER: SAMPLE LETTER: SAMPLE LETTER:
To
Secretariat for Environmental Protection, Belgrade
Goran Trivan, Secretary
Dragoslava Budimirović, Deputy Secretary
Ministry of Agriculture, Trade, Forestry and Water Management of Serbia
In Copy to
Mayors Office, Belgrade
Miroslava Dajč, Head of Office
Vesna Ivić, Head of City Administration, Belgrade
Office of Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia, Verica Kalanovic
Ministry of Justice of Serbia
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Links: https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/serbia-dogcatchers-safari-in-new-belgrade-attack-on-human-and-dogs-life/
http://www4.clustrmaps.com/counter/maps.php?user=9b44b4e0
please take note of the above (link) described events taking place throughout March 2012, in New Belgrade, as witnessed and communicated to us globally by Serbian animal welfare campaigners.
It is of the utmost importance that these rash, cruel and unprovoked actions against the strays of Belgrade – vaccinated, neutered and cared for by locals, posing NO THREAT, as they are, and were – be explained, and immediately stopped, pending investigation and discussion as concerns the continuation of the successful TNR programme these animals are part of.
As you can see through the above link, what you are approving and undertaking in New Belgrade is reaching a global audience. Serbia will not benefit from these actions; quite the opposite. It is up to you to move into the 21st Century regarding animal welfare, and show the rest of the world that you will not continue to ignore existing animal welfare legislation which exists within Serbia.
If you wish to become an EU member state, then you have a duty to enforce the rule of law. Currently you are failing on this. The choice is yours – but you are not welcome by many I to the EU if you continue with your existing abuses of animals.
Live in Century 21, not the 18th !
Thank you for your timely answer, and action.
Sincerely,
Name and nationality.
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Additional points you may wish to include in the above letter – optional:
· absent lawful control of responsible/irresponsible ownership (although the Law for veterinary and Law for animal welfare both demand this control be undertaken by veterinary inspectors
· Non microchipped dogs and cats, owned by irresponsible owners, are regularly thrown out onnto the street; where they reproduce with other non-sterilised animals and produce a never ending cycle of stray animals – the alleged ‚problem’ which you appear unable to address in any suitable way
· The continual collection and killing of starys is a good money earner for both you and the animal mafia of which you approve. You do NOT address the real problem of reducing stray numbers – you are only interested in the money that you can make out of the continual situation of new stray animals – YOUR FAULT as you are irresponsible with your attitude to stray animal controls
· By using Article 70. of the Law of animal welfare: the owner of a microchiped dog/cat has an obligation to finance everything that is neccessary for that dog/cat until its natural death, even if the dog/cat lives at a city shelter, city pound or in its proper home .
· With Article 7. of animal welfare legislation, each Law : the killing of both healthy dog/cats, and also throwing them out onto the street as regularly undertaken by many citizens or by city zoohigijena firms – are both forbidden, so TNR is forbidden way too.
· In an earlier period, before the Law for veterinary and before the Law for animal welfare, “Ovca“ Belgrade killed around 6000-8000 dogs per year (they did not even count cats – although they were killed also).
· Every year a further 6000-8000 dogs have been thrown onto the streets by irresponsible owners – only then to be caught and killed by the city service “Ovca“ Belgrade.
· The people of the city are paying for your irresponsible approach and attitude towards the reduction of stray animal numbers. One could suggest that the system is very corrupt and that corruptionn is a huge part of the system – why you are not acting correctly.
· In the last few years a new public firm named : `Veterina` Belgrade – city service, has started a TNR policy; This firm catches and sterilises, and then returns to the street approx 2000-3000 strays per year. At the same time, irresponsible owners throw out some 6000-8000 animals per year onto the streets. .`Veterina` Belgrade catches some 2000-3000 animals per year, less than 50% of the animals thrown out by irresponsible owners. A recent report by .`Veterina` Belgrade says that they take in over 5000-5500 dead dog bodies per year, or 400-500 dead dogs per month. This has been the continual situation for the past 3 years.
· Animals continually thrown out onto the streets by irresponsible owners; city companies which collect the animals and kill them; veterinarians who are paid by the city to undertake the killings; the lack of a city wide public education by the mayor and government authorities – it could be said that this is an ‚animal mafia’ type system which is very beneficial and financially rewarding system to those who are in power. A continual process of stray animal production and round up and killing – a continual process of making money for some, whilst ignoring the approach of actually trying to enforce the law and adopt a policy of stray animal numbers reductions.
· You are part of the system, and that system is an animal mafia that is doing nothing to reduce stray animal numbers. The mafia would only appear to be keen on making money off the backs of dead stray animals.
· This is disgusting – you should all be utterly ashamed of yourselves and your lack of a decent approach to stray animal control and attempts at stray animal numbers reduction.
Information provided through ‘SAWN’ – the Serbian Animal Welfare Network.
Wording directly as written, with no modifications.
DOGCATCHERS’ SAFARI IN NEW BELGRADE – ATTACK ON HUMAN AND DOGS’ LIFE
On the 13th of March 2012 Veterinary Belgrade Zoo hygiene team started to „clear the ground“ of the street dogs in two New Belgrade locations: at large park between the Palace of Serbia (previously known as SIV) and Danube River and at the former building site of Energoprojekt at Španski borci Street.
The dogs by the Palace of Serbia originate from dogs which have been living at the big building site in Proleterske solidarnosti Street. Upon completion of all works on the building site the dogs have moved into the uninhabited area by the Palace of Serbia. The dogs from Energoprojekt building siteoriginate from few dogs which survived the poisoning by strychnine in the vicinity of Belgrade Arena in September of 2005 shortly before the European championship in volleyball when Veterinary Station Belgrade ( the old name of Veterinary Belgrade) received an order of the Belgrade City Department of Environment and Ecology to “clear the ground“.
The lawsuit of the fosters of those dogs to the Prosecutor’s office despite all pathological and toxicological findings and autopsy reports as well as witness statements the findings did not go further than the County Prosecutor’s.
On the 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th of March 2012 at Palace of Serbia the dog catchers were chasing the dogs driving in five new cars of Veterinary Belgrade with rotating lights on. The dogcatchers were chasing the group of distrustful, peaceful, well fed and healthy dogs which do not approach people on the lawns around the woods and bushes where dogs were hiding. The frightened dogs fled in all directions.
As the dogs were running faster, the dogcatchers were driving faster with no care about the direction in which they were chasing the dogs and driving them out to boulevards of Mihajlo Pupin and Nikola Tesla. Two young dogs which were driven out in that way in full gallop on Nikola Tesla Boulevard were killed under the wheels of cars on the 13th of March 2012. So doing the dogcatchers directly caused the death of the dogs and directly endangered the safety of traffic participants, i.e. they endangered lives of people who were driving or were driven the boulevard at the time. Except the direct attack on the lives of humans and dogs, the dogcatchers traumatized the drivers and the passengers of the cars by which the dogs were killed, as well as the passengers of the buses who were disgusted by the whole scene watching the chase during a stop at traffic lights.
Their “booty“, young dogs about a year old packed in two large parked vans. The older dogs as faster, stronger, more experienced and more skilled at hiding resisted a few more days. On the 16th of March 2012 the dog catchers came in only two cars at Palace of Serbia going on to chase traumatized and already tortured dogs on the lawns. They hit the oldest bitch named Big Mama by the car then and they killed her right at the spot by smashing her neck.
The witness Aleksandra Dokić ran to the dog and photographed the corpse of it before the dogcatchers returned to carry it away. The fosters Nada Prokić and Mileta Kusurović were also at the spot. After completion of the chase at Palace of Serbia the dogcatchers went over to an “easier“ job at ex-building site of Energoprojekt.
A group of about ten dogs lives, i.e. lived on the site which is no longer in function. All dogs in the group except one female dog were neutered, vaccinated and micro chipped by Veterinary Belgrade during the fall of 2011 and earlier.
The dogs are distrustful, non-aggressive, well fed and calm. They did not leave the fenced area of the former building site. The fosters called the dogcatcher and helped them to catch most of these dogs by using blowers in the fall of 2011 to be neutered in Neutering Center and Shelter Resnik and then returned to the dogs’ habitat at Energoprojekt. The dogs were returned from Resnik micro chipped on names of the fosters who helped the dogcatchers to catch the dogs.
As it was in 2006, 2007 and 2008 Zoo hygiene again forces the fosters to accept status and responsibilities of the owners in order to return neutered dogs to their habitats. But there is a difference compared to the previous decade: On the 21st of September 2011 the City Assembly adopted the latest Strategy of Solving Non Owned Dogs and Cats Problem on Territory of Belgrade City. Veterinary Belgrade as a direct perpetrator of the Strategy is required to operate in accordance with and on the guidelines of the Strategy.
One of the specific objectives of the Strategy is the introduction to the legal status of the street animal fosters. On the contrary Veterinary Belgrade has been turning the fosters into the owners of street dogs for months now, thereby reversing the stated objective of the Strategy, as well as one of two basic methods of the Strategy: Catch – Neuter – Release.
On the other hand Veterinary Belgrade usually does not inform the “owners“ of street dogs when their dogs are caught despite the Regulation on Conditions which must be fulfilled by Shelters and Pensions for Animals (Pravilnik o uslovima koje moraju da ispunjavajuprihvatilišta i pansioni za životinje), and which obliges Veterinary Belgradeto (Article 36 point 2) and which has recently entered into force.
If the “owners“ are informed they are not allowed to take their dogs over. The whole problem has the economic aspect too: catching and transport of owned dog is charged 5.500,00 rsd and a day of dog’s stay in shelter is charged 400,00 rsd.
On the 13th of March 1012 the dogcatchers started to hunt the already neutered dogs at Energoprojekt which are registered as owned dogs of people who feed them and take care of them. One dog was caught by the blower on the first day of hunt and another dog was caught the same way on the next day.
On the 15th of March the remaining, already traumatized, intelligent dogs hided under worker’s shack looking for security. Finding out their hiding place the dogcatchers battered at the shack, moved concrete slabs on which the shack is placed so putting the dogs in danger of falling off the shack onto them. The dogcatchers used iron bars, wooden beams, iron hooks and wooden boards to blindly hit the dogs from one side of the shack while other dogcatchers were waiting on the other side with wire ropes to put over the dogs’ necks.
They were caught by the wire rope and drew out a terrified dog with bloody head then and they quickly gave him an injection of anesthetic to be able to towed the dog to the van. Witnesses who watched “bothered“ the dogcatcher by watching what they were doing, so dogcatcher Marković cursed and insulted one of the fosters Emilija Barišić, an elder woman dressed in mourning clothes.
On the 16th of March 2012 the foster Nada Prokić came to the site to be witness of the way of catching the dogs previously gotten permission from the guard at the entrance to enter. The dogcatchers had just towed a long time ago neutered bitch named Ema. Seeing Nada Prokić, they immediately stopped working and all of them were silent except the dogcatcher Marković. The dogcatcher Marković addressed rudely the foster Prokić yelling at her “what she’s doing there“, and then he phoned a superior in Veterinary Belgrade.
The superior instructed dogcatcher Marković to call police, which dogcatcher Marković did several times in a row, i.e. until police patrol came on the spot. Dogcatcher Marković intercepted police officers at the entrance of the site and explained the officer that Nada Prokić “hindered them in their work“.
Another witness, foster Veselinović joined Nada Prokić trying to talk to the officer. Having entered the site officer Trajković, badge number 10 56 92, asked identity documents of both fosters and requested them to leave someone else’s property, because they “failed to indicate their arrival and they hindered the people who work“.
Nada Prokić told officer Trajkoviću that she had entered the site with the permission of the site guard, in order to be a witness – observer of the dogcatchers’ work, i.e. inhuman catching of animals that violate Animal Well-being Law, Veterinary Medicine Law, European Convention, as well as Veterinary Belgrade Regulation on Manner of Catching Animals.
For the above reasons, Nada Prokić refused to leave the site. The policeman grabbed her roughly by the arm, dragged her from the site and pushed her into a police car. Then the dogcatchers continued their action. Nada Prokić spent entire morning at the police station. A policeman who was standing right next to her; she neither could go to toilet nor to drink water.
To make the picture of what happened more complete it should be stated that Nada Prokić is a retired doctor and professor at Medicine Faculty of Belgrade University, a small and frail woman. Foster Veselinović is also Belgrade University professor at the Faculty of Mining and Geology.
On the 17th of March 2012 Deputy City Secretary for Utilities and Housing Services, Department Zoo hygiene, Vladimir Terzin answered by phone to a foster who complained of the cruelty with which the dogcatchers treat the dogs during catching them, hurting them with hooks, poles, rods…:
“If it is needed we will roll over even a shack!“
The dogcatchers stopped the hunt on the 21st and 22nd of March, and then they went on with pursuit of the dogs. Veterinary Inspection of Ministry of Agriculture, Trade, Water and Forestry responsible for supervising the implementation of the Animal Well-being Law as well as Veterinary Administration did not respond to any of many reports of violation of the Law by Veterinary Belgrade.
Some past SAV posts of interest:
https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2008/03/07/activists-4-serbian-animals/
https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/serbia-campaigners-request-for-proof-relating-to-unlawful-acts-of-animal-killing-by-the-republic-veterinary-inspection/
https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/serbia-190310-zajecar-city-alleged-rabies-outbreaks-without-informing-the-oie-gives-authorities-excuse-for-mass-stray-killings/
https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/serbia-new-information-of-terrible-suffering-at-smederevo-city-pound/
https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2008/09/26/serbian-animal-welfare-campaigners-write-and-ask-the-serbian-government-for-a-no-kill-sterilisation-policy/
https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2008/09/05/photographs-warning-animal-suffering/
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Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) 