“The problem of stray animal population in Serbia”

 

INDEPENDENT ACTIVISTS & ANIMAL ADVOCATES TEAM

Belgrade 

2005/2006.

 

 

As documents showed us, Serbian Government was flooded by countless pleas to stop killing Animals.

 

Organizations, Institutions and citizens from around the World offered help in implementation of humane methods for stray animal population, but no efforts to stop the killings from Serbian government were made.

On the contraire, Serbian government has ignored them.

 

 *(copies of letters and proposals are in our possession and are available on requests)

 

In the past 5 years, Serbian capitol- Belgrade “controlled” the stray animal population by its own rules and methods>

(Controlled media and controlled leading “non governmental organizations for animal welfare” were used to create mass confusion). Disinformation empowered many Serbian citizens to behave by their newly created impulse of animosity toward stray animals, and to worsen this situation>

Many incidents occurred where animal guardians were cursed, attacked, or kidnapped-(all happened publicly!)

 

 *(newspaper clippings and witness reports- available on requests)

 

Mass confusion and hysteria created “anarchy” in several Belgrade districts:

(Novi Beograd, Mirijevo… and on July 15. 2005.in Zemun,>

Thru documentation and field research, we had opportunity to witness how  self organized hoards of Citizens (previously stimulated by the “hate campaign”) acted by their own newly set rules, and publicly called for others to join them in future *witch-hunts and their ways of public sacrifice (“dog extermination”> by hunting, trapping, stoning,

burning alive, poisoning, hanging, shooting etc.)

 

Stray Animal population Observation:

We could not obtain legal documents which can relate to field measurements/many documents are “unreachable”).

No precise data of who estimated the actual population and how,

(Parameters did not show up in any of investigations).

Proposed by document signers, the estimated number of stray animals was to high and not valid, due to the lack of information how and who did those measurements, we can not take this document as valid.

Because of all the above problems, we can not precisely say how many abandoned animals roam thru Serbia, but we confirm (with grate sadness) that thousands upon thousands of unwanted dogs and cats were brutally executed in past two years only.

 

NOTE: Past Projects and field measurements we could not obtain- because Serbia don’t have control body for monitoring of stray animal population and due to this problem there are no valid past measurements.

 

By the time when this disputable document/project became public

( 2005.), many concerned citizens reacted and reported their doubts in rightness of organizations witch verified (signed and sealed) this document/project.

Complains were sent to numerous organizations world wide and many especially addressed to WSPA (as two of project signers are members of WSPA society).

*Explanations from connection to WSPA were “to be patient and that a right person will come, they are working on this”?.

 

 

Observation3

 

NO kill shelters (registries):

Private (owned by citizens and under guidance of several organizations:

Capacity: 40-100 dogs or 100-300

Bardo oaza,

Avala-(Oaza, FBB, Respoktons, Budon),

Riska, -Vojvodina- owned by Monika Brukner,

Stray Shelter- “Helena” Surcin/Belgrade,

Mladenovac

Backa Topola

 

Self organized-operating under self management (2 people most)

Capacity: 20-30 dogs>

Kaca, Seka, Violeta,

“Zorica” Budisava,

”Ogi” Avala

 

  

“Ovca- kill Pound”

PHOTOS:ARKA www.arka.org.yu

 

Capitol city, Belgrade own one (1) kill pound OVCA)

and sponsor several private kill pounds around Serbia.

Belgrade city pound operate as “kill shelter”

 

 

OVCA kill pound is located in Belgrade/OVCA district.

OVCA kill pound DO NOT work under proposed laws, do not posses appropriate management, and workers do NOT posses needed skills to work with animals.

Workers are not educated to catch/handle animals.

 

In OVCA facility- captured Animals are living in tragic conditions, without water/food and without proper medical care.

On these animals were performed serious operations/sterilization/ while animals are in very bad health conditions, and are held further without proper post-operative care.

In OVCA facility there is NO Triage.

 

*Animals are held in cruel, inhumane living conditions and then are brutally killed or left to die by long and painful death after various ways of abuse.

 

*ORCA/AW organization/Belgrade, As leading “non governmental” organization in this field, in correspondence with Merritt Clifton (Editor of Animal People newspapers) stated that OVCA use “T-61” as a “legal method of execution”!.

 

(T-61 banned in many EU countries-

T 61>> CAS Type 1 Name 4,4'-methylenebis(N,N,N-trimethylcyclohexanaminium), diiodide, mixt. with 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl 4-(butylamino)benzoate monohydrochloride, N,N-dimethylformamide & N-(2-ethyl-2-(3-methoxyphenyl)butyl)-4-hydroxybutanamide. Chemical Synonyms T-61 Tanax CAS Registry No.66424-27-9 )

 

As investigation revealed, Methods of “euthanasia” in OVCA facility are inhumane, are not legal, and are done by uneducated workers and those killing methods include:,

 

-Injecting various toxic detergents,

-Injecting concentrated insecticide "Nuvan"

-Injecting “T-61”

-Various Oral poisoning,

-Suffocation by plastic bags or ropes,

-Various ways of clubbing to death: smashing animals head with heavy doors, smashing restrained animal onto the floor, hanging, etc.

 

According to people that witnessed extermination in “Ovca”, animals died in the most brutal ways.!

 

Witness notes:

 

1.“…after all brutality in OVCA kill pound, where in every box/container, by size smaller than quadric meter, scream and cry more than 10-20 compressed dogs, without food or water, they were all wet from urine, many were bloody.. In every box several wounded dogs, some are dead, half dead, skeletons with just skin (hanging on them) many are in comma, many CANT get up….many dead bodies…”

 

2.“Many little doggies (puppies), frantic eyes and faces- waiting a week or more to be executed, they are dying in packs, many times they get injection of detergents- from which animals are dying in slow and painful… They are killed by clubbing, and killing is done in one room where they all wait to be executed…”

 

3.“Dragi S. (worker in OVCA) came near the dying female, she was breastfeeding her pups (they were no more than 10 days old) with the iron club he hits her on the head, until he knocked out her eyes. The Female was not trying to escape. She protected her puppies. When HE left, dying female kissed her puppies once more and crawled little bit further, to die.”

 

4.“Not so long ago, one old lady, by mistake, came in that same facility in OVCA kill pound:

“The dog was caught in the heavy door, and with the iron clubs, they viciously hit him in the head, until they killed him!”

She was talking about the cause of her emotional brake down.

 

5.“While I was on my way to OVCA kill pond, I was thinking how I will see just big, dangerous or sick dogs in there. From 100 of them, there were only 5 big ones. All others were small or very small, and with approximately 30 puppies among them- as MR. Radovic said.

In one box/cage one female with 12 (palm size) puppies, most of them on her breasts. They didn’t open eyes yet. Several in coma, Female tried to stand up, but she can’t. She’s looking at us…

-“I can kill them while eating a peace of bread”- words of worker in OVCA facility on our question: how can you do that?”. 

 

6.“And the barrack (part of Ovca facility): stinky, moist, dark…

Dogs in encounter with humans, if they have the strength for it, stand up; grab the iron bars, cry, shake...

That day, aprox. 100 of them were inside.

Inside the barrack, 10 to 15 cages/boxes, in every cage approximately 20 dogs. They were literally one on top of the other, in their own excrement, because they did not go out. In that full cage only one bowl for water-EMPTY! Konc. camp for dogs: skin hanging on skeletons. On the dirty floor, puddle. Dogs, on dirty, cold water.”   

 

There was a lot of resistance from several organizations and many citizens because of these vicious acts, but for a “city power” killing was the best way to deal with this problem.

 

Investigation NOTE:

 

OVCA facility is CLOSED for public.

Procedure for “dog adoption” is very hard, and it takes more than 5 hours to obtain “needed documents” to get inside OVCA facility.

Still with “needed papers”- no one thru our investigation could get inside the area where dogs are held.

It is very hard to get inside the killing area.

All witness notes were taken from citizens who entered in “barracks” by *course of events.

* Several citizens, (under emotional stress and in urge to save dogs life) gave up under pressure from workers in OVCA facility, and gave money/ or gifts before entering the area where dogs were held in cages.

 

 

 

Article in “Politika Express” Newspapers- February, 13. 1997.

“The Butcher shop in kill pound?”

 

“There, we did notice a parked smaller truck, ready for loading.

By the wagon we saw a pile of plastic bags, containing, with care packed butchered dog meat."

 

        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Overall, investigation shows that OVCA kill pound works under very suspicious conditions.

Among various forms of Animal abuse, OVCA kill pound illegal activities include: hiding of evidence, autopsy obstructions, corruption and other forms of law braking, deception, blackmail and serious human rights violations.   

 

 

After numerous complaints-filed to the court, Arka (organization for animal welfare/from Novi Sad) in the year 2002 managed on legal basis to close OVCA.

Few weeks after closing, Organization ORCA/Belgrade helped in OVCAs reopening.