PETA’s  letter to the Serbian  Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management

January 28, 2005

Dr. Dejan Krnjaic, Veterinary Director

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management

SIV III Building, First Floor ,Omladinskih Brigada 1 11070 Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro

Dear Dr. Krnjaic:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is an international non-profit organization with more than 800,000 members and supporters dedicated to the humane treatment of animals. Our office has recently received several letters and e-mails from Serbian citizens who are deeply distressed over terrible cases of cruelty to animals that they have witnessed in Serbia. The writers claim that there are no national laws in place to prohibit such violent conduct toward animals. We have received heartbreaking photographs taken in Belgrade of dead dogs hanging in public (copies enclosed) and eyewitness statements about dogs being killed via extremely cruel methods by municipalities, including intracardiac (into the heart) injections of dangerous pesticides and by being thrown alive into trash compactors where they are torturously crushed to death. We beg you to act immediately to implement laws that not only prohibit, but punish malicious acts such as these.

Violence toward animals has long been recognized as an indicator of dangerous psychopathologies that do not confine themselves to animals. “Anyone who has accustomed himself to regard the life of any living creature as worthless is in danger of arriving also at the idea of worthless human lives,” wrote humanitarian Dr. Albert Schweitzer. “Murderers ... very often start out by killing and torturing animals as kids,” according to Robert K. Ressler, who developed profiles of serial killers for the United States (US) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Studies have now convinced sociologists, lawmakers, and the courts that acts of cruelty toward animals deserve our attention. They can be the first sign of a violent pathology that includes human victims.

Animal abuse is not just the result of a minor personality flaw in the abuser but rather a symptom of a deep mental disturbance. Research in psychology and criminology shows that people who commit acts of cruelty toward animals don’t stop there; many of them move on to their fellow humans.

The FBI has found that a history of cruelty to animals is one of the traits that regularly appear in its computer records of serial rapists and murderers, and the standard diagnostic and treatment manual for psychiatric and emotional disorders lists cruelty to animals as a diagnostic criterion for conduct disorders.

A study conducted by Northeastern University and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in the U.S. found that people who abuse animals are five times more likely to commit violent crimes against humans. The majority of inmates scheduled to be executed for murder at the state of California’s San Quentin penitentiary “practiced” their crimes on animals, according to the warden.

Cruelty to animals must be addressed by judicial systems in every country to deter violence against animals and people alike, and promote a safe, compassionate home for all citizens. We urge you to do everything in your power to ensure the passage of national animal protection laws in Serbia, and stand poised to assist you in any way needed in this important undertaking.

May we please hear from your office?

Thank you very much for your valuable time and attention.

Most respectfully,

Teresa Lynn Chagrin, Animal Sheltering Advisor

Domestic Animal and Wildlife Rescue & Information Department

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

501 Front Street, Norfolk, VA 23510 USA

6/ BEST FRIENDS MAGAZINE July/August 2005, reviews & updates

A Brutality that Must Stop

During the war in Bosnia in the 1990s, each side accused the other  of “acting like animals.” Sure, the barbarity factor was horrific. But people weren’t acting like animals. More accurately, they were behaving like humans. The war in the Balkans has been over for a decade. Most of the violence between ethnic groups has stopped. But now it seems to be turning on other species – especially homeless pets. Alarming reports have been filtering in from citizens and tourists alike who have been witnessing the brutal massacre of dogs and cats around the country. Even obviously well-cared-for pets who venture onto the streets have been at the mercy of the extermination campaign.

In large cities like Belgrade, there have been mass poisonings. In other towns, like the winter tourist resort of Zlatibor, the mayor issues hunting permits that allow people to shoot dogs on sight – often right in front of vacationing tourists and children. (And before anyone writes off Serbians as totally uncivilized “and quite different from us,” bear in mind that a similar proposal to shoot feral cats on sight was on its way to become law in Wisconsin until the governor stepped in to rule it out of bounds, and two states actually have similar laws on their books.)

Brave souls in Serbia who try to step in and save animals that they see being hunted have found themselves facing retribution themselves.

There have even been reports of private humane groups participating in the destruction. Serbia faces a very real problem of stray animals. During the war, when pets weren’t allowed into human shelters, some 20,000 were pushed onto the streets. And the population kept growing from there. There are few animal protection laws on the books, and those that do exist are routinely ignored. Still, hope is on the horizon. As reports filter out to the larger world, international attention is increasingly being turned on Serbia. Former screen siren and longtime animal activist Brigitte Bardot has appealed to Serbian President Boris Tadic to stop what she described as the “brutal cleansing” of stray animals. And her Brigitte Bardot Foundation, working with another group, Respectons, has created a new shelter for dogs. The plan is for them to be spayed or neutered and to receive veterinary care before being set free in a refuge managed by a local association, Oaza. Operating in Belgrade, the group is taking in animals that are being rounded up by the municipal government and saving them from being killed. As with many start-up rescue efforts, it’s a small step –but a lucky one for the animals who make their way there.

Write to the Serbian authorities asking that the brutal treatment and extermination of animals be stopped.

http://www.bestfriends.org/allthegoodnews/magazine/bfmjul05pdf.pdf