Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)

29/3/14:
The Mayor of Subotica City has plan to close AZIL ALEX shelter by carrying the dogs from the shelter into what is wrongly called the city ‘shelter’. Providing haven and shelter it does not do !
The city shelter only has places for 234 dogs. There are currently approximately 180 dogs already at the city shelter which have been caught and taken there by the Shinters.
There are also 600 dogs at shelter Azil Alex.
180 ‘shelter’ dogs + 600 from Alex shelter = 780 dogs total.
780 dogs total – 180 already at city ‘shelter’ = Additional 600 dogs.
600 extra dogs from Azil Alex does not fit into 234 places at the shelter, especially when there are already 180 dogs there !!!
We are working along with many others who have informed us that the Mayor is doing this with the hope that many of the dogs when placed into the city shelter will simply kill each other – such is the city ‘shelter’ – not exactly providing much in the way of ‘shelter’ for anything.
If dogs kill each other, then more spaces become available; these are filled with more dogs, which fight and kill each other; the death cycle continues !
We suggest to the Mayor maybe he should change the name of the facility to ‘Subotica City Animal Death Camp’, which we consider is a much more descriptive statement for what actually happens there.

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Update 2/4/14:

Please find below a short sample letter which you can copy and send to the authorities at Subotica; including others.
E mail addresses to copy and send your sample letter to are:
mayor@subotica.rs;    gunacelnik@subotica.rs,    gukomunalno@subotica.rs,    vetinsp@eunet.rs,      vetuprava@minpolj.gov.rs

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Sir and authorities of Subotica city;
I have recently heard that you have intentions to remove all the dogs from shelter Azil Alex and to put them into the Subotica city shelter.  I also feel that calling the facility in Subotica city a ‘shelter’ is actually the direct opposite of its existence – the facility provides no shelter for animals, who are instead provided with little acre, attention and food, very much unlike the situation at Azil Alex.

 
I also understand that the city facility only has places for 234 dogs; and that at present there are approximately 180 kept there. If all the 600 dogs from shelter Azil Alex are also located there, then the establishment cannot cope.  I also am informed that your policy, which is against the existing Serbian animal welfare laws, is that dogs can be located into the city shelter where they can battle against each other to survive. You are working on the policy that many dogs will fight and that many will kill each other. This is not acceptable to a nation such as yours which is seeking EU membership.

 
Putting animals into a facility to fight with and kill each other is not a quick fix or a long term solution to the issue of stray dogs in Serbia.   Proper public education, combined with sterilisation of owned and stray animals is the only way forward to reducing animal populations.

 
I understand from friends in Subotica that every year some 800+ dogs are put onto the streets by irresponsible owners. Owners who do not have their animals sterilised, but which then mate with un-sterilised strays to yet further increase the stray animal population. This is the area which you need to address, both in terms of public education for owned dogs and also the undertaking of sterilisation of stray animals. You are wasting fnds and taxes by not undertaking sensible approaches to future management of strays.

 
Irresponsible pet owners must be educated to have their animals sterilised, with cty subsidies to help them if necessary.

 
Subotica city must undertake a lawful programme of owned pet control; as well as a strategy / programme of control to sterilise stray animals also, just as the law demands.  The national law also states that you have a duty to take care of all the animals which are collected from the streets and taken to such facilities as the Subotica city ‘shelter’. Your duties include adhering to the national laws on animal management and control, policies which do NOT allow the killing of animals.

 
You need to change your management attitude and policy towards reducing stray animal numbers long term; rather than just allowing animals to kill each other in the city pound. The most important here is public education – ensuring that owned pets are sterilised by their owners instead of remaining un- sterilised and being thrown out onto the streets each day.

This approach is not rocket science !!
As you are currently being non compliant with Serbian national laws on animal welfare, protection and care, I feel it is now necessary, and my responsibility; to inform the EU enlargement Commission of your negative attitude towards animal welfare and protection. This will not help Serbian accession into the EU. I will also be informing the EU animal welfare Intergroup of my concerns with regard your attitude.

Keep the dogs at shelter Azil Alex and work towards adopting a stray animal control programme which the city of Subotica can be proud of. Until you do, you will forever have numbers of stray animals which are beyond our control.

Please move into the 21st Century and work on a good, decent stray animal management plan whish is required under existing Serbian laws.

Thank you

Name:
Nationality:

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In Serbian:
Tipicno , specificno za Suboticu je da neodgovorni gradjani izbacuju svake godine novih 800 neobelezenih pasa/macaka godisnje, svake godine i na taj nacin:
– znajuci da postoji neodgovorno vlasnistvo pasa/macaka, i da Vi niste nista ucinili na eliminaciji neodgovornog vlasnistva;
-znajuci piramidu reprodukcije pasa i macaka,

Vi nikada necete moci resiti problem na zakonit nacin dok najpre ne ucinite sledece:
1.Vi, Grad , morate napraviti zakonit Program kontrole neodgovornih vlasnika koji se zove:Program kontrole i smanjenja populacije napustenih pasa i macaka i tako zaustaviti dotok novih pasa/macaka;
2.Vi , Grad , morate zbrinuti sve suboticke pse i macke koji su zateceni na ulicama , oni su vlasnistvo neodgovornih gradjana Subotice, nisu nicije privatno vlasnistvo, i na njih i vas se odnosi zakonska regulativa.

Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, SERBIA (Central Serbia: Capital - Belgrade) and (Serbia, SHELTER - Information | Leave a comment »

27/02/2014

Here below is the new update from Danica regarding this last winter at shelter Felix.

As you can read; several young animals are very poorly and in need of veterinary treatment, which is costing a lot !  There is also the need for constant funds to keep the gas bottles loaded up so that they can supply warmth to the animals at the shelter.

If you can help with a donation, no matter how small or large, please do it and help the animals at shelter Felix.

Web site link =  http://catshelter-felix.com/

Blogspot =  http://novisadcats.blogspot.co.uk/

The Blogspot enables you to donate online using Paypal, and also provides full bank details should you wish to send a donation via your own bank.

Some great news is that SPCA International recently published a story of Felix shelter, which you can see by clicking on the following link:   http://www.spcai.org/index.php/news-and-blog/blog/entry/cat-shelter-felix-serbia.html

Please give anything you can this winter to help the cats at shelter Felix – Thank you – SAV 

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Danica writes as follows:

These last few weeks have been nothing less than hectic.  After a somewhat balmy start to this winter, a cold spell and snowstorms swept through Serbia and blizzards wreaked havoc at the beginning of February. Many vehicles were snowed in, the roads were blocked and had been rendered impassable by blasting snow and powerful winds, so a state of emergency was declared. Military helicopters were deployed to rescue travelers that had gotten stuck in drifts. The army, police, firefighters and rescue teams were all in the field, the border with Hungary was closed while the Felix kitties, cozily tucked in their rooms, were awaiting nicer weather in their snowed-in home, cut off from the world by snowfall…

Real winter came briefly and went away again, a few days of spring-like weather followed just to be replaced by rain, but as long as there’s no new snow, we have nothing to moan about. Hopefully March won’t bring some unpleasant surprises but one can never know…  Central heating is on, thanks to the tremendous generosity of our friends and supporters – we managed to fill our gas tank for the second time this winter a couple of weeks ago and not a minute too soon, as there was almost no fuel left when the gas delivery truck pulled into the shelter at last. Unfortunately, the health conditions of the most delicate, oldest and chronically ill kitties are a completely different story.

Joca’s eye injury was the first in a series of serious problems and started with a scratch on the cornea that quickly evolved into a corneal ulcer and he had to undergo eye surgery, using a third eyelid flap. The third eyelid was actually sewn shut over the eye to protect the cornea and promote healing, which was done in an attempt to save his eye and avoid enucleation.  When the sutures were removed, it turned out that not only has his eye has been saved, but there’s vision in that eye as well! Joca is living in the house at the moment, cuddly and sweet as always, he is still under treatment but the worst has thankfully passed.

The next to fall sick was Shalimar, my recently rescued Siamese. Found in terrible shape, he was bouncing back entirely too slowly and seemed to be nervous and uneasy whenever I tried to pick him up. It seemed kind of odd until it was discovered that the two huge scabs I found on his body were in fact two large abscesses. The vet said he probably got injured some time ago but his abscesses were passing unnoticed until they fully matured and were practically ready to burst. A lot of pus came out of them after squeezing, they were drained, cleaned and debrided. The skin was stitched and gauze sutured into both wounds to keep them sterile and to facilitate drainage, without using drainage tubes. His stitches were removed a few days ago and both of his wounds are healing nicely. One less thing to worry about…

But the biggest problems were yet to come. Out of five kitties that are facing serious health issues right now, four are the members of the squad I initially brought to the shelter when we moved here and although I knew this winter would be stressful, this is entirely too much! Kmeca has a number of life-threatening health conditions: a dangerous renal papillary necrosis, kidney stones, sand, liver and duct bile problems, a wound of her tongue, some viral disease, inflamed gums, an unidentified mass in her colon… She is bone skinny, with seriously compromised kidney function and anything could happen at any moment.  Frca is heartbreakingly weak as well and it is suspected she has a pancreatic disease, but although she is being given medicine and special food, things don’t look very promising. We’re taking it one day at a time as it’s all we can do with both of those fragile beauties.

Marka and Kus Kus, a couple of oldies but goodies are struggling with the usual difficulties of the elderly, more or less – Marka has some bone and joint problems of the elderly (which is not a surprise considering she is over 18) and refuses to eat when her condition is painful. Kus Kus is having gum problems again which is nothing new though, as it has been happening to him on and off for years now.  After a major crisis he went through two years ago, he still hangs on, brave and dignified.

Njanja’s mysterious problem is still unsolved, mostly because he is not showing any other symptoms apart from being thin. It has been going on for months and there must be some underlying cause to his gaunt look but we haven’t yet succeeded in discovering what it is.

Circumstances have reached emergency level! Vet bills keep piling up, the special food costs a fortune and the fight for their lives has just begun. Please, consider donating whatever you possibly can to help these amazing felines recover!

Every donation, regardless of size, is of immense value and gratefully received as they all add up and really make a difference for these valiant furry fighters! On their behalf, thank you in advance!

Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, SERBIA (Central Serbia: Capital - Belgrade) and (Serbia, SHELTER - Information | Leave a comment »