This is the brutalization of not only dogs, but people as well, so much for government’s care for its people. The order was given from the “top” of the City government to collect ALL dogs, place them in death-camps and let them, in constant fear and shock, wait their turn to die! No, they don’t kill them, for now at least, but it is a well known fact that these types of mega-giga dog shelters do not work, they are not economically sustainable, and conceptually are self-destructive. Therefore all such attempts (though never with such a large number of dogs, they say 3000 but we have no way of confirming that), failed everywhere in the world – they were closed up and all the dogs in them were killed! Truth be told, even the City officials wrote that fact into their Strategy.
So, the question is why do they do it? How much of the City budget is spent on this insane adventure, but with fatal consequences for dogs? This Country and this City are in huge debt, is this the proper time, in the midst of the World economic crisis, for someone to gamble with our money – the taxpayer’s money? If I am supporting a dog voluntarily, why is the City forcefully taking it from me, so that they can support it? Hard to comprehend....In addition, as dogs who for years lived happily on the streets, free, had food and water every day, veterinary care, some even dog houses, but most of all love from the people that voluntarily cared for them, now tremble in fear and live in inhumane conditions, for no reason; while the media presents glowing reports about “humanity” of City officials – they are “solving” the problem because they are removing them from the streets, in a “humane” manner, but today in civilized world, dog “shelters” are considered dog abuse! Misconceptions of the uninformed public and media, that the problem can be solved by eliminating all dogs, which is not true, will continue until the elite group that elected their own ruling chairs and are collecting their pay-checks from the City budget, decides to seriously address the CAUSE! Therefore, in place of these good, socialized dogs that never bothered anyone and were used to living on the streets, some OTHER DOGS will arrive soon – with unpredictable behavior, not neutered or vaccinated, female dogs in heat surrounded by a pack and, as a result a whole bunch of new puppies! Up until now, we only had puppies from dogs of unscrupulous dog owners, now we still have those but also all these new ones!
The other misconception prevalent among all is that all dog shelters are a humane solution, again not true, but no one in Serbia knows that! Using these misconceptions, the City falsely presents itself as the problem “solver” and in a “humane” way. The truth is that they (government) are destroying everything that has been created over the years bringing us back to zero, as if no one ever did anything in Belgrade, even though many people dedicated 10 years of their lives in caring for those dogs, as did the previous City officials because dogs in Belgrade have been routinely neutered for years!
But that’s not all! Removing the CNR (Catch-Neuter-Release) dogs without a way to prevent arrival of new ones, equals total insanity! To make matters worse, they themselves wrote: “dog shelters are not the solution as new dogs will arrive”! An again we have the question, why do they do it?
Furthermore, Belgrade does not have a Program in place about population control and its reduction, based on Article 54 of Animal Welfare Act: provincial Cities HAVE and did it in a timely manner! Therefore, Belgrade that once shone like a star in a not so bright Serbia, with its CNR system, today lags behind the province and destroys the CNR that has been functioning in Belgrade for over 10 years, while other Cities are adding it into their Programs and they don’t even have the foster care and the street dog guardian program! Sick and inapprehensible!
In order to destroy the CNR system in Belgrade, they opted for violence and brutality, toward people and dogs: catching everything, from disabled dogs to extremely old dogs, often causing them physical injury! To sway people to give up their dogs that they forcibly remove and take them to their death camps, they are using emotional and financial blackmail, threats and intimidation, creating some new “rules” every day, using unwritten orders from the City government top, while not abiding by the law in any part, except in certain Articles that allow them the flexibility to carry out this terror!
This fraud is very perfidious on so many levels: Street dogs that they themselves micro-chipped to guardians, were proclaimed “proprietary” overnight, and are demanding payment from already impoverished people for their “work” – 5,500 din. (55€) for the “catch” (field work 1,000 din., “lost time” 1,500 din., catching the dog 3,000 din.), and 460 din. (4,6€) per day for each dog at their death-camps! Is there such a thing anywhere else? Out of love for their dogs, poor and discriminated people pay this ransom, only to have the whole cycle repeated the next day! Is there such a thing anywhere else?
Those dogs that have been micro-chipped on the City, in order to be released, they (the City) demand that they be re-chipped and “adopted”, i.e. that people become “legal guardians”, and then they threaten those people with a 50,000 (500€) penalty if they catch that dog again and, if caught it will never be returned again!? This, like everything else, is against the law, the Animal Welfare Act (Article 65), which states that they are obligated to return the dog!
But, power knows no God, dogs whimper, people suffer (many developed medical problems over this) and cry, beg not to have their dogs taken away, but “Veterina Beograd” remains untouched, as does the very “top” of City government that in fact issued those orders! NO MERCY FOR ANYONE – not for people, not for dogs!
This unlawful action caused a disaster on a massive scale, with thousands of dogs affected, because one person stood behind almost every dog! What is this great goal that’s “worth” such an uncalled for collective disaster? No one knows what their plan is, not even with the dogs, because no one holds them responsible, nor is anyone controlling them. They have walked over all animal protection agencies, disregarding the Animal Welfare Act law (Article 3), that calls for not only cooperation with agencies, but working together on a solution?!
In that same Strategy that was adopted in September 2011, they wrote that they will legalize the CNR , granted that such a document is not a legal document, nor can it replace the Program that hasn’t been created yet but, since it was adopted by City Council, creates a moral obligation. And what did they do? They are destroying the CNR with all means, using totally undemocratic methods (extortion, blackmail, threats) and are carrying out their lawless rampage in the SHOWDOWN WITH STREET DOG GUARDIANS - the goal of their plan is to break us down and take away our dogs, they already have, 2000 of them!
From summer of 2011 to December 31 of 2011, 265 dogs died in City shelters without having to deliberately kill them – we suspect the figure is much greater – dogs that people have rescued from their institutions, even after all the money spent on vet care and superhuman efforts, have died anyway – an estimated 450 additional dogs! Will anyone ever be held accountable for such a crime?
According to their records, only 213 dogs were housed in Ovca public shelter throughout 2011, brought in based on alleged biting occurrences, which is of NO CONSEQUENCE! Therefore, Belgrade dogs are not prone to biting despite the violence they suffer in this primitive environment!
Regardless of why comes into any government sector and wishes to solve problems, is obligated to start solving those problems based on existing situation (status quo), and not to forcibly destroy existing situation in order to fit own goals. That’s deliberate destruction, and no one should have that right.
With this policy all dogs are being destroyed:
- The ones that have been abducted are written off
- The rest why are running for their lives are also threatened, they are left without people to care for them, and roam aimlessly as their habitats have been destroyed
- Changing the requirement conditions for public assistance funds, for dog food purchases at numerous private dog shelters, leads to endangering additional dogs lives.
- With a new “dangerous bread” tax of 30,000 din. (300€), under threat of property seizure for refusal to pay, they are forcing people to get rid of their dogs, endangering them and encouraging abandonment.
MANY QUESTIONS HAVE NO ANSWERS, BUT THE ULTIMATE QUESTION IS HOW CAN ANYONE, DESPITE ALL THE LAWS, THE FACT THAT SERBIA WAS GIVEN THE EU CANDIDATE STATUS (obligatory to following all its laws), WITHOUT ANY REASONABLE REASON (KNOWN ONLY TO THEM), WITHOUT PURPOSE OR OBJECTIVE, CREATE THIS TRAGEDY OF PEOPLE AND DOGS? WHERE DO WE LIVE AND ARE WE ALL JUST GUINEA PIGS TO THOSE IN POWER?
Worst of all is that this is what we have to live with - from anguish to plundering, and NO ONE knows, because the media veil of darkness in Belgrade has never been darker or denser!
Version in Serbian
