Posted on September 23, 2015 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Please keep the donations coming in – Thank You.
Ok , friends , I finally can think and realise was happening in last 24 hours .
Not only do you led me to believe again in miracles , you have gave opportunity to our dogs to live on safe . For me that is not small thing and forever we will be grateful for everything that you have done to us .
In total was collected : 2602 EUR . But that is not all ! Our dogs got sponsors , so now only 4 from 20 have no sponsor !
This is amazing, big relief for us and I must say again THANK YOU !
Next step for us is 5 titer test for dogs in boarding.
With 4 dogs who already have titer it will be 9 dogs who can travel to new life .
Soon I will post pictures of those dogs because they will need foster or forever home and I will ask you for one more favour – to share their stories . 🙂
Filed under: Animals Requiring Adoption or Homes - Worldwide, CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, SERBIA (Central Serbia: Capital - Belgrade) and (Serbia, SHELTER - Information, SUPPORTERS, The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »
Posted on September 22, 2015 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
VICTORY RESULT !!
UPDATE 23/9/15 – Target reached in 24 hours!!
Additional donations always welcome.
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Is there anyone out there who can help with a sugar daddy who can pay off this debt ?
Or, is anyone prepared to set up a donations site so that the money needed can be raised ? – urgent; by Monday or the dogs are on the street.
2,580 Euros. Otherwise a very difficult pill to swallow.
Read the story below.
Please read
This is not an appeal for help, I do not believe in miracles any more.
This is only information for you who have supported us for so long time. I think that you deserve to know.
After conversation with owner of boarding kennel today, and debt who has increase a lot, we are forced to move dogs who have no sponsor on the street.
We have deadline until the monday to pay all debt. That is not possible and we know that. Our total debt with debt for food is 2580 EURO.
For us that is big money and we have no way to pay that. We are facing with hard situation, dogs in boarding have no food, dogs in shelter have no food. In last 2 month we did not collect enough to they have food every day. And that is not rescuing.
With current situation and low chance to pay that debt we can not use boarding kennel space for free. It is one of the hardest option for us, we are aware that dogs will not survive on the street, but space in shelter for them we do not have. New boarding kennel is not an option because current debt we still have to pay.
Most of our dogs are not vaccinated, because there is no money for that. If we are not able to help them, maybe some of them will find luck on the street.
For us is already hard enough because we did not keep our promise to those dogs that they will be on safe forever, and that never will be hungry. Because they are hungry. And they will not be on safe.
We know that those dogs deserve chance and nice home, but nothing of that we are not able to give them.
We have tried, and failed and that hurt a lot. I am sorry.
BRILLIANT NEWS;
UPDATE 23/9/15 – Target reached in 24 hours!!
Additional donations always welcome.
Filed under: Animals Requiring Adoption or Homes - Worldwide, CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, SHELTER - Information, The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »
Posted on September 21, 2015 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Regarding the export of live sheep from Serbia to Israel in such terrible conditions recently; see our post
we have now written to Commissioner Hahn at the EU Enlargement Commission to ask what regulations / compliances for the welfare of animals in transport actually were involved (if any ?) with these consignments.
If there was no legislation in place for compliance, then the consignments should never have taken place in the first place.
Directly following is a copy of the letter sent to Commissioner Hahn.
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To: Commissioner Hahn – European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations
Who’s Responsibilities Include – Supporting pre-accession countries in implementing democratic and economic reforms, upholding the rule of law, strengthening economic governance and competitiveness, developing a well-functioning public administration, and building bridges with neighboring countries.
Sir;
Serbia has a pathetic international reputation for the welfare of animals within its borders. Despite its terrible global reputation, Serbia actually has some very good animal welfare legislation on statute; but these regulations, the national ‘rules of law’, are never actually enforced by the Serbian government / or regional authorities. As shown in your responsibilities above, and as declared on your website http://ec.europa.eu/commission/2014-2019/hahn_en your fundamental existence is to uphold the rule of law in EU pre-accession states, which currently includes Serbia. One is therefore to assume that as Serbia has existing animal welfare legislations; you; as part of your Enlargement responsibilities, should be undertaking the actual enforcement of animal welfare legislation within the republic of Serbia.
In relation to the involvement of my organisation within Serbia over the last eleven (11) plus years, it is blatantly clear to the entire world that the Serbian authorities have no regard for the actual enforcement of their own animal welfare legislations. Further, it seems that the EU Enlargement Commission; of which you are the head; have very little interest in undertaking your actual responsibilities in enforcing Serbia to apply their own animal welfare legislations prior to EU accession.
To further support my argument of the failures, I provide information relating to an incident which has taken place over the last few weeks. Live animals, namely sheep and / or lambs; have been transported from Serbia to Israel for slaughter. We understand that a consignment of 16th September was possibly the first of several transported by air from Serbia to Ben Gurion Airport in Israel. This specific shipment involved around 1500 young lambs that were transported in one of the worst heat waves Israel has known, using four trucks which used the Qalandiya checkpoint, for onward movement to slaughterhouses in Ramallah.
Several lambs died during transportation from heat exhaustion and the very overcrowded conditions which clearly did not comply with EU standards for animals during transport. Below are a few photographs from the many we have on record showing the conditions of travel.
Photographs removed – but same as that shown on this site.
The EU, of which you are an official, are very quick to continually point out that all the (EU) legislation for animals in transport is in place – Regulation 1/2005 of December 2004 on the protection of animals during transport refers.
As we have seen with very recent expose of transport to Turkey by European NGO’s such as Eyes on Animals, http://www.eyesonanimals.com/inspection-of-eu-livestock-trucks-heading-to-turkey/ compliance with EU Regulation 1/2005 is haphazard to say the least.
I ask you to provide please what regulations currently exists within Serbia legislation for the enforcement of transport regulations for Serbian farm animals; please provide details on who is responsible for their enforcement, and who has the responsibility in advance of any consignment for ensuring that the (Serbian / EU ?) regulations are adhered to re inspection and approval of consignment journey plans?
As Serbia is currently seeking EU accession, the question is – should your Commission not be upholding its responsibilities (as detailed above) by ensuring that you ensure that the Serbian authorities enforce the ‘rule of law’; either ensuring compliance with their own animal welfare during transport regulations or; if they do not exists, then enforcing EU animal transport existing legislation such as 1/2005 ?
If Serbia does not have its own animal welfare legislation currently in place regarding long distance international transportation; should you not be taking the necessary actions to ensure that journeys such as those detailed above do not ever happen in the first place ?
Serbia should be stepping up to the plate at all times; and be ensuring that legislation (either Serbian or EU) regarding the welfare of (its) animals is strictly adhered to. Compliance with the law should be the current situation for all animals in Serbia, including stray dogs and cats. Serbian animal welfare legislation established in 2006, which under the Criminal Code of Serbia. Article 269 declares:
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Paragraph 1: anyone who is cruel to, inflicts violence or kills an animal as defined by this law, must be punished by up to a 6 month prison sentence;
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Paragraph 2: if suffering or death is carried out on more than one animal, the person who inflicted this suffering can be sentenced with up to 3 years imprisonment.
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any person who is cruel, violent or inflicts death on any animal making up the ‘special protection’ group of animals (as for example, the wolf or the brown bear) can again be sentenced to up to 3 years imprisonment.
In addition to Article 269, Article 46 of the Serbian Veterinary Law declares:
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that animals have a right to life. There is no law declaring euthanasia has to be undertaken as a means of stray / street animal control.
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each local community in Serbia has an obligation to provide care for abandoned dogs and cats – unfortunately this is still not the case in many circumstances, some 10 years after legislation was introduced
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each community has an obligation to finance stray animal care, including the building of shelters
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each community has an obligation to finance sterilisation, medical care and food for the (stray) animals
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volunteer prizes can be given as an alternative for payment to people who volunteer and are directly involved with jobs that include the care and protection of abandoned / stray dogs and cats.
Be they farm animals; animals in transport, stray animals or other; if any form of legislation currently exists, which it does; then this should be enforced by the Serbian government and authorities at all times. With Serbian EU accession currently taking place, it is also very much the responsibility of the EU to ensure that it fully monitors the entire situation and that Serbian ‘rule of law’ is fully enforced by the Serbian authorities prior to them ever being allowed to become a future EU member state.
The EU cannot make statements declaring enforcement of the ‘rule of law’ on one hand, and then, through its Enlargement Commission, conveniently turn a blind eye to the animal abuses which are happening within these same accession states; it needs to enforce what it says or remove the statements from the ‘europa’ website at the every least.
If there are to be new future member states in the EU such as Serbia; then we as EU citizens need to be given the satisfaction that everything is currently being undertaken by the EU Enlargement Commission to ensure the welfare of animals within Serbia. Neither your Commission or the authorities of the Serbian republic give us even a hint of any satisfaction of welfare regulations being enforced at this present time.
As we, EU citizens and taxpayers; are currently providing so much pre-accession financial support (in excess of 1 billion Euros) into Serbia, the very least you can do at the EU Enlargement Commission is to actually ensure that Serbia enforces its own rules of law when it comes to animal welfare legislation. If they do not, we have to question the point of your own existence within the EU !
I very much look forward to you providing me with a full account of all the sheep sent live from Serbia to Israel; including full information and copies where necessary of compliance with existing Serbian and / or EU legislation on the transport of live animals. You are the EU Enlargement Commission; let us have the facts when it comes to Serbian animal welfare legislation !
We are working with UK, German and Austrian animal welfare organisations to further promote this issue. The world has been informed of the situation regarding Serbian – Israeli live animal exports. We very much suggest that you undertake what you preach – that being Serbian adhesion of the rules of law – its own national laws. At this present time; regarding Serbian animal welfare, like much of that also in the EU, it very much fails / has been proven to fail. Global supporters will be informed of the progress of this (our) request via networking sites. The choice is yours; it can be compliant or non compliant with what you declare on your website – ‘enforcement of the rule of law’. Lets see it !
I look forward to your response in the very near future;
Yours,
Mark Johnson
Founder – ‘Serbian Animals Voice’; Kent, England UK.
Date: 21/9/15.
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It is only contact address and e mail details which have been removed on this copy – there are no further changes to the letter.
We now await a response from the EU regarding the points we have raised; and you can be assured that we will be publishing the response in full sometime in the future on this site; as well as via many of our other networking sites across the world and within the EU.
We want answers to this animal abuse – Serbia needs to be made account if it has any wish of becoming a future EU member state.
We hope the letter fully outlines our current views and requirements on this issue.
We have asked for detailed answers – we want them !
Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, LETTERS, PHOTOGRAPHS - **WARNING** (Animal Suffering), SERBIA (Central Serbia: Capital - Belgrade) and (Serbia, The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »
Posted on September 18, 2015 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
8/8/17 Update – when we originally exposed this the Serbian government denied that it had ever happened. Mark wrote to the EU about it (you can see the response in the following link) and when questioned by the EU, the Serb government admitted that it had happened.
As a typical Serbian government act of revenge against animals and activists, they, the government, then tried to then take action against animal shelters in Serbia by trying to close them down.
This is why we get no positive action from the Serbian government over anything we try to do to help animals ! – they are the government, they know better than us, or so they think. How very typical of so many governments around the globe.
Here are the links to our posts on this which gives more information. Mark.
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Original Post Information:
Breaking News ! – Serbia exporting Live Animals To Israel
As if the world has not gone crazy enough with live animal exports, now it appears the pathetic Serbian government want to get in on the act. The photographs sum up the Serbian governments concern for animal welfare full stop; be it stray animals, farm animals or export animals. They simply do NOT CARE ABOUT THE WELFARE OF ANIMALS.
We have just been provided with some disturbing news from our colleagues at CIWF here in England. http://www.ciwf.org.uk/
It appears that Serbia is exporting live sheep and lambs to Israel. From what we know and see; conditions have been terrible and many animals have died due to the extreme temperatures.
We have made contact with our Serbian campaigners about this and we are now waiting for further news. We are sure these (possibly first of many) shipments are linked at all with Eid which is happening soon.
There have been no live exports from the UK for several months; but over the last week there have been three shipments of live sheep for slaughter in Europe due to the Eid festival. Another shipment of sheep is expected from Ramsgate port in England tomorrow – 19/9. Shipment from the UK are all organised and undertaken by a Dutch exporter named Onderwater.
Reports state:
The first documentation of live transport by air, arriving at Ben Gurion Airport.
About 1500 young lambs were sent on Wednesday from Serbia to Israel, and from there, in one of the worst heat waves this country has known, by four trucks only, onward to the Qalandiya checkpoint, their next stop being slaughter houses in Ramallah, for the occasion of Eid el-Adha.
Several lambs died from heat exhaustion and the overcrowded conditions. A conspiracy of silence just prevents us from reporting the exact number of deaths in this agonizing journey.
The air and sea live transports continue at the expense of the innocent
Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, PHOTOGRAPHS - **WARNING** (Animal Suffering), SERBIA (Central Serbia: Capital - Belgrade) and (Serbia, The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »
Posted on September 16, 2015 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Dear Mark
Hidden away in the remote India–Nepal border area, Suma the sloth bear has lived a life of misery. Our rescue team found her with bleeding claws, broken teeth and a pierced muzzle oozing with pus. A coarse piece of ragged yellow rope had been pushed through the open wound in her nose. It had been used by her captors to force her onto her hind legs and make her ‘perform’ as a dancing bear.
It is unclear what her captors had intended for Suma – more long, painful years as a dancing bear in Nepal perhaps. But certainly if we hadn’t rescued her, Suma would have faced a miserable fate.
Your gift today will help to repair the physical and mental damage Suma has suffered
Once she was safely in our care, the team caring for her could see Suma was truly suffering. Our vet noted:
“This poor bear is in a lot of pain. It seems her captors were trying to remove her claws and perhaps even her paws while she was alive to sell the body parts, possibly for traditional Chinese medicine. The poor animal has suffered severe trauma and will require extensive veterinary care.”
On arrival at Wildlife SOS’ Agra Bear Rescue Centre the stinking rope was gently removed from Suma’s nose. As her mouth was filled with painful sores, at first she could only be fed on a bland liquid diet. However, gradually the keepers have started to introduce solid, nutritious food into her meals and lots of love and kindness into her life.
Her terrible ordeal has left her fearful and suspicious but this has made us more determined than ever to work at developing a bond of trust and affection with her.
I’m determined that, with your help, we can end Suma’s suffering and give her the happy life she deserves after so much suffering
Please try to help – thank you – SAV.
Thank you
Yours sincerely
Alan Knight OBE
Chief Executive
PS So far, in her short life Suma has known only cruelty and neglect. Like all dancing bears, she has been abused and beaten into submission and it’s no wonder that she cowers at any loud noise or even the sound of a raised voice.
Your gift today will help us fill her life with love and kindness and dispel her fear forever. Thank you.
International Animal Rescue
Lime House
Regency Close
Uckfield, East SussexTN22 1DS
United Kingdom
Filed under: Animals Requiring Adoption or Homes - Worldwide, CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, PHOTOGRAPHS - **WARNING** (Animal Suffering), The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »
Posted on September 11, 2015 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Dear friends, I need your support yet again.
The officials from Serbian town Bac have served a final notice for the owner of the private shelter LESI to evacuate the premisses and get rid of all of her stray animals 100 in total. The date for her court is 24th September!
Milica is desperate and has nowhere to take them to safety – the only possibility is the street again (where they are only going to be caught again and put into city pounds, and we all know their destiny then!)
Please could you at least send your protest messages to these addresses below hoping that they will realise that the other organisations are watching their actions.
Milica was given all instructions from the city officials what she needs to do in order to keep her shelter, which she obliged to, but now they are saying that it is not right and she must close it as it is too close to the neighbours!
I am so sure that by now you know how “good” serbian officilas are at following the AWL and that they only follow the rules when they want to.
Milica will go to court to fight against their decission but she needs our support so that they can see that she is not alone.
Thank you again!
Kind regards,
Vesna S.
Please send your letters of protest to the following addresses :
SAV Comment – we feel it is important that we send an international message about this to the Serbian authorities who do so wrong; let them know the world is watching them. Please add your nationality and location to anything you send.
Dear all
EPAR filed a criminal complaint against persons of municipal administration Bac and against JKP Komunalac, Kula. They act together : opposite to law demands and they together do crimes to animals and to public money . We will see what like will be action of Public Attorney of Novi Sad.
We will also send copy of our complaint to the judge who will lead Milicaş case.
Kind regards
Slavica
We are hoping that together we can make the realise that they cannot carry on with breaking the law!
Filed under: Animals Requiring Adoption or Homes - Worldwide, CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, LETTERS, SERBIA (Central Serbia: Capital - Belgrade) and (Serbia, SHELTER - Information, The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »
Posted on September 8, 2015 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
We are currently producing very little on this site.
For the last 11 years we have campaigned to improve the welfare of Serbian animals; mainly strays; urging the Serbian government to adopt a policy of ‘no kill’ sterilisation to reduce numbers over time. The government have ignored our every wish and suggestion, as they have with that of many other international animal organisations; including those from Germany and Austria.
You get to a point when you ask yourself if there is any real reason to continue with a campaign which has been ignored by the government for the last 11 years plus.
We have now reached that point.
In recent years we have seen many excellent German organisations – those who have undertaken sterilisations and treatment; pack up and get out of the country; betrayed by a pathetic government which still kills animals which have been sterilised and fitted with red button ear tags to say the same. Organisations have put time and money into making an effort to reduce stray numbers. Thanks to the thickheads in the Serbian government; all these efforts have been in vain; the killing continues; and despite some very good laws for animals in Serbia; nothing is complied with legally to enforce the ‘rule of law’.
Showing that you are applying ‘the rule of law’ is a fundamental requirement of any new state wishing to become a member of the EU. As you can see from many posts on this site, we have written to, and made contact with the EU Enlargement Commission on several occasions asking them to get Serbia to enforce its own rules of law if it ever wishes to become an EU member state. The EU Enlargement Commission Has not acted for us or with us – it has ignored us in its feeble attempts to get Serbia into the EU come what may. We feel betrayed by both the Serbian government and the EU Enlargement Commission; both full of self important’s who in reality are not listening to the people on the ground but are simply doing their own thing regardless of what the rules and regulations say.
We are now questioning if we should join with the German organisations of the past and simply get out to leave the thickheads in the Serbian government and the EU to wander on ignoring their own allegedly so important ‘rules of law’. This is a sad situation, but we ask why we should try to get governments to enforce the rules of law when nobody else, including the EU Commission, turns a blind eye to what is happening – ignoring all the evidence we present to them.
It is the same with the EU and the issue of live animals being shipped to Turkey, Israel and Gaza from the EU. We have often shown the flag of ‘the EU Must Ensure Animal Welfare’. Make no doubt, by allowing live animals to be shipped under such long and terrible conditions; the EU is DOING NOTHING to ensure that animal welfare is being enforced. People called ‘Members of the European Parliament’ (MEP’s) should be constantly taking action to ensure that animal welfare legislation is enforced throughout the EU. They are failing, and they are failing dramatically ! – over a week and a half ago we wrote to many UK MEP’s regarding live animals being shipped from Lithuania to Israel; and calves being shipped from France to Turkey. None of those contacted have even bothered to respond to us on the issue – so what exactly are the doing ? – these so called representatives of the EU people who were elected by the people of the EU ?
If they cannot even respond over the issue of live animals from the EU being transported to non EU nations; then it is obvious that they are not interested in animal welfare in future EU accession states such as Serbia.
So this week we are now considering our future. What is the point of giving endless evidence to Serbian and EU authorities when they simply ignore you and basically carry on in their world of self appreciation and very little else ? – MEP’s are not and do not represent the wishes of the EU citizen – they do not ensure that EU regulations are enforced within the EU; and so you get to a point when you have to ask why we are contributing to the keep of such people ! – they certainly do not represent us and they certainly do not listen and look at the evidence we present to them. As a good investigator friend from the Netherlands said this last weekend; why does the EU allow the wrongs to continue in long distance animal transport until people like us have to come up with the proof of the wrongdoing ! – governments and EU authorities should be investigating in advance and taking actions when necessary to stop the wrongdoings; not waiting until welfare groups have to come forward and show that the rules are being broken !
By next weekend we will probably have decided on the future of us and this site. Who knows; MEP’s may even break the habit of a lifetime and actually get in contact with us about live calves being shipped from France to Turkey; but then ……………..
Is 11 years of no progress in Serbia worth it ? – NO.
Is the EU and its ‘self important’s worth it ? – not if they continue to ignore the people they should be representing – US – EU citizens !
Do we simply say that we have tried and failed, thanks to a mass of no support from the Serbian government and the EU ? – probably yes.
Will our actions help Serbian animals ? – no; but then there are supposed to be laws in place in Serbia to make sure things are undertaken correctly; and the EU should; yes the EU, should be ensuring this happens before Serbia becomes a member state.
Do you hold your hands up and say to yourself that with such incompetents doing nothing to help your cause; there will never be any progress ? – probably.
What would you do in our position of Serbia and the EU utterly ignoring your evidence and proposals for reform ? – walk away !
We may do just that!
Do you want to hear a joke ?
Ask the calves going from France to Turkey; the calves going from Lithuania to Gaza, and the dogs being killed under the ‘rule of law’ by the EU in Serbia. We dont think they would shout that the EU is enforcing any animal welfare !
There has been just one MEP; Mr Keith Taylor (Greens) who has helped and supported us. We thank him for that. But the support of just one MEP is not enough; and constantly hearing nothing from the EU Enlargement Commission really shows how importantly they actually consider their basic principles of new accession states making sure they enforce the rule of law.
By the end of 2017 the UK is supposed to have a referendum on staying in or leaving the EU. At present, polls show more support for getting out of Europe – we wonder why !!!
Above: Livestock transporters full of EU animals on the EU – Turkish border – waiting several days to clear customs. Then what awaits them ? – ritual slaughter in a Turkish slaughterhouse.
Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, LETTERS, The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »
Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) 