New petition:
BOSNIA! IMPLEMENT HUMANE STRAY-DOG AND CAT POPULATION CONTROL AND TREATMENT
Please sign and share. Every time someone signs, an email goes out to all to the authorities responsible for animal welfare in Bosnia Herzegovina. It’s critical that these authorities are notified of our outrage and that they do something – or else they very well might consider the approach Romania has taken.
The Romanian government has given the green-light to the mass killing of tens and thousands of stray dogs in the country’s capital.
Please read the copy of the petition letter below as it has important information regarding the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
“Millions of citizens from the EU and worldwide care deeply about animal welfare and are sickened to read constant reports of horrific animal cruelty occurring in Bosnia and Herzegovina and about the shocking and increasing numbers of stray dogs in the city streets.
The problem with stray animals in this country must be addressed in a humane, forward-seeking way: compulsory spay neuter of companion animals; compulsory microchipping and registration; public education on responsible ownership and humane treatment of all animals.
Many international animal welfare organizations cite Bosnia as the country with the most reports of animal abuse and suffering. It seems that the society views stray dogs and cats as nothing more than a vermin to be exterminated – or worse.
Deliberate animal abuse is rife: there is the famous case in Ilidža, where two men put a rocket explosive firework into a young German Shepherd’s mouth and duct-taped his jaws shut, setting the rocket alight. The firework caused substantial injuries to the dog’s face, but did not kill him. He wandered about for five days before being finally rescued by animal welfare volunteers. The dog had to be euthanized. The dog’s injuries were documented by photograph and video and can be seen on the internet. Nearly 200,000 people signed petitions asking the Bosnian and Herzegovinian authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice, but nothing was done.
Dogs are routinely poisoned, used as bait for dog fighting; chucked into rivers to drown; beheaded, beaten, starved. Cats suffer equally appalling treatment.
Torture and killing of animals is a criminal offense in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of such crimes very rarely occur. The usual response of police officers to reports of animal abuse is that these are “unimportant offenses.” It is evident that police officers, prosecutors and judges are not trained to understand the link between animal abuse and crimes against people.
This link has been well documented over several decades. Studies in psychology, sociology, and criminology during the last 25 years have demonstrated that violent offenders frequently have histories of serious and repeated animal cruelty. In the USA, the FBI has recognized the connection since the 1970s, when its analysis of the lives of serial killers suggested that most had killed or tortured animals as children. Other research has shown consistent patterns of animal cruelty among perpetrators of more common forms of violence, including child abuse, spouse abuse, and elder abuse.
According to a 1997 study, animal abusers are five times more likely to commit violent crimes against people and four times more likely to commit property crimes than are individuals without a history of animal abuse. Professionals in the veterinary, animal control and animal welfare fields are now seeing companion animal overpopulation as a “people problem” rather than an animal problem with the individual and collective behaviour of people as a causal agent.
The problem of companion animal, particularly dog overpopulation in Bosnia and Herzegovina has become a problem of epidemic proportions. It is understandable that citizens of the country are concerned about the spread of disease, and about being attacked by dogs. Unfortunately this concern only contributes to the negative view and inhumane treatment of the dogs.
Furthermore, animal rescuers are generally considered to be “fools”, people who “do not have anything better to do.” This indicates that the society in this country does not understand those who are unable to fight for themselves and their rights and has a complete lack of empathy for those who suffer. This means the society as a whole has a pathological feature: animal abuse can be a symptom not only of a personality disorder, but the disorder of a society.
Until the government and citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina understand these wider implications of animal abuse and neglect, the animal overpopulation will not stop. It is vital that these implications are understood by all and that adequate means are implemented to address the situation in a lasting and humane manner.
The dog shelters of Bosnia and Herzegovina are not a solution: not only are the conditions entirely inhumane in most, if not all, state shelters, but it is common knowledge that such shelters are used to launder money from public budgets. Even when good shelters are set up they fail: a model dog shelter set up in Brcko District had to close after eight years because it was subject to sabotage, threats, abuse, theft and illegitimate lawsuits.
However, the Animal Protection and Welfare Act of Bosnia and Herzegovina states that shelters for stray animals must be built and maintained, and this Act includes shelter guidelines which ensure all necessary conditions for a successful and humane shelter. Therefore, all those responsible for the numerous “horror shelters” of this country should be punished by law; and shelters should be built and maintained according to the Animal Protection and Welfare Act. It is necessary that foreign animal welfare organization control the conditions in Bosnian-Herzegovinian shelters and that they educate and manage the people who work in these shelters to ensure that there is no corruption or reduction of standards.
Currently population control and promotion of spaying and neutering as well as implementation of the animal welfare law is not in any shelter manager’s interest because they want and need a constant flow of new dogs so they can justify the funds spent each month from the budget. We have access to images from the state dog shelter in Banja Luka, the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These images show dogs that were killed by injections of bleach and a dog killed by other dogs. Dogs in shelters are known to be ‘euthanised’ inhumanely in a number of ways including clubbing. Images from other state shelters show starving dogs and dog corpses left amongst living dogs.
Critically, Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to implement a countrywide, compulsory spay neuter law for all dogs and cats, whether they are stray or not (owned dogs and cats are left unsterilized and free to roam, contributing to the problem), imposing hefty fines on those who disregard the law. Just one unaltered female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies in only six years. In seven years, one female cat and her offspring can produce an incredible 370,000 kittens. Male animals contribute to the companion animal overpopulation crisis even more than females do. Just one unsterilized male animal can impregnate dozens of females, creating dozens upon dozens of unwanted offspring.
Housing strays in shelters after sterilisation programs is also detrimental. A spay neuter program for strays must be C-N-R (catch-neuter-return), which is in fact the only humane and proven method to successfully curb stray animal populations, sterilising and then returning dogs to the territory where they have been caught. If the dogs are not returned back to their territory, the reproduction rate will rise directly with the catching rate (in an area where 50% of the dogs are caught and removed from the territory the rest of the 50% will breed in larger numbers due to the fact that they will use the whole food resources available). The empty place created by dogs being removed will be occupied by other dogs in search of food and shelter.
However, if the dog is returned to his/her territory, he/she will fight off and keep away newer dogs from entering his/her area, including those that are probably not sterilized and thus stop the reproduction in this area. Their number will stabilize in this manner, and reduce, slowly, but surely.
“Catch & kill” or “catch & incarcerate” policies have failed in many countries. Cities that have successfully managed and curbed their stray animal population were those that opted for “catch & return”, such Oradea in Romania, which had a stray animal population of 4,000 dogs in 2006. This has been reduced to 270 dogs in 2011 without putting to death a single animal. C-N-R is also a cost effective approach. Romanian Animal welfare organisation SOS Dogs calculated the cost over 10 years of “neuter and return” versus “catch and kill”: in a town of 200,000 people with 8,000 dogs the cost over 10 years for “catch and return” was calculated at 995.000 Euros, and the cost of Catch & Kill was calculated at 1.8 million Euros with no long term reduction in the unsupervised dog population achieved.
It is imperative that Bosnia and Herzergovina make such measures as stated above a priority. The Eurogroup for Animal Welfare is strongly urging the European Commission to adopt adequate steps to ensure that all companion animals are properly treated to protect their health and welfare.
If it is Bosnia and Herzegovina’s wish to join the EU it would seem that until their government takes crimes against defenseless, sentient animals seriously they will not be a fit country to be accepted into the EU.
Regardless of EU membership, for the sake not only of the animals but the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, internationally agreed-upon guiding principles on humane stray animal population control must be implemented, with resources allocated to ensure such principles are understood and followed by all citizens including those in the police and judicial authorities.”
Please sign and share the petition:
BOSNIA! IMPLEMENT HUMANE STRAY-DOG AND CAT POPULATION CONTROL AND TREATMENT
Relevant articles from this blog:
Dog Shelters in Bosnia: A Complex Situation
Horror Camps for Animals in Bosnia
Concentration Camp for Man’s Best Friend
Concentration Camp for Man’s Best Friend PART TWO
Mass Graves Found Near Dog “Shelter”
HRESA “SHELTER”:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven
Other relevant information, links, websites:
Care2 Petition: Demand Investigation into Horror Shelter in Hresa, Bosnia
Thinktank Policy Brief on the issue of animal welfare in Bosnia Herzegovina November 2012 (PDF)
Making the Link – A study to identify psychological effects of children regularly exposed to uncontrolled community animal abuse and evaluation of efficacy of interventions.
Occupy For Animals
Occupy for Animals – Petitions to the European Union
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DONATIONS Funds are needed not only to help individual rescues and to help us keep safe the rescued dogs we are sponsoring but also to continue our advocacy work in Bosnia, uncovering the truth about what is happening there.
On our sister site, Animal Welfare Advocates for Bosnia, you can set up a monthly donation via PayPal, or if you want to make a one-off donation, please go to your PayPal account (or set one up, it’s very easy) and send the money to: donations@awabosnia.org as a ‘gift’. Click on the image below to be taken to PayPal’s home page.
Or if you want to use the customised PayPal form, click the link below. However, a transaction fee and a percentage (2- 5.4%) will be deducted by PayPal for any contribution made.
If you want your contribution to go to a specific dog or cause, please make a note in the PayPal comment box. If you wish to contribute via bank transfer or have other difficulties or questions, please go here.
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This site is dedicated to Vučko. Read his story and don’t let him have suffered and died in vain. Please help the stray dogs and cats in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The situation there is utterly dire, Vučko is but one amongst many horrifically abused animals. Go here to find out how to help them. Money is needed for food, medicine and foster housing. Even just one dollar or one euro will help.
IN MEMORY OF VUČKO 
That is disgusting and they call themselves human they r the animals
Please do not use animals as a negative. You hurt all animals when you, an animal lover, use the word ‘animal’ as a curse word, to describe the lowest human being. There are many other words: bum, cretin, monster, lowlife, sub-human….
Please.
NO, they are not animas, animals are not like that, but “humans” are. They are monsters ad subhuman.
this is all so awful that I could not read the whole thing. (I started to but had to stop.) I love dogs. this is criminal. I also like cats. I agree that criminals often were bullies and hurt & killed animals as youngsters.
Authorities in Bosnia are in plain English “criminals”
The barbaric cruelty is just too much to stomach. They can’t be human, to see such suffering. No shelter is ideal but out there they are like the house of horror. All europe should boycott such a country. Kids growing up seeing the atrocities will become brutes theselves so time to stop.
This is absolutely CRIMINALS , there is NO EXCUSE what so ever .. those people have NO FEELINGS and NO SHAME .. those people are “” PSYCHOPATH “” there have to be STOPPED under all CIRCUMSTANCES .. I am very , very disgusted and never would visit this COUNTRY.. and I hope there are more PEOPLE what would do the same .. there should be ISOLATED .. until there relies what there doing is CRIMINAL .. 😦
I AM IN COMPLETE AGREEMENT WITH YOU… IT IS BEYOND WICKED THE SUFFERING.. HEARTBREAKING… BUT HOW HOW DO WE EVER GET THEM TO SEE REASON.. PEOPLE MAY NOT LIKE ANIMALS BUT THERE IS NO..REPEAT NO NEED FOR THESE HORRORS
As I said before earlier today, this is disgusting & made me sick to my stomach.
Justice should be done.
Watching this today has made me sick to my stomach. These animals are GOD’S creation. It’s just disgusting what these people have done to these innocent animals. I think that whoever did this, should have the same treatment done to them!!! To me, this is a criminal act & justice should be done. Are these people at all human beings to even think of doing this!!! I would say, that they are the scum of the earth.
I am so agree with You Ursula . I have never seen before those kind of cruelty .. ..Can You remember what they did to human race some years ago.. their own people under the war.. ;( ;( ;(
They should be brought to court and be judged .. for these actions.
Yes You are right they should be isolated .. until they realize what they are doing ..
Tough economic pressure – always helping well on understanding.. of the problem!
They should be left in complete isolation.. those terrible monsters..
P.S.
Sending my best wishes to all wonderful animal lovers! 😉 We need to send some money to help those poor creatures… 😉
I believe that the situation in Bosnia is badly misrepresented.
Edib, I’m afraid you are sadly mistaken. Not only are there reports from dozens of people living in Bosnia about the situation for animals, but also reports from those visiting the country as a tourist. In addition, international animal welfare organisations who have direct experience in the country substantiate everything written here. The photographs do not lie.
This article has really upset me today. How Vucko must have suffered I just cannot imagine. These animals all belong to GOD & these people that did this act, must be punished severly. PLEASE TAKE ACTION TO STOP THIS HORRIFIC CRUELTY.
I am horrified by what I saw. I dont think that this should be allowed.
Dalin Govea.
Awful, disgusting, horrible! … Poor dogs! I really feel sorry for them!
This is barbaric and s&i me sing how can the whole nation turn its back I the flight of these beautiful animals. Please take action to stop this horrific cruelty!
Reblogged this on Sherlockian's Blog and commented:
Please spread the word and help save Man’s best friend in Bosnia.
don’t be stupid give them love and food dont kill them they are the best friends off all people save the animals
Stop this! This is not human! Every animal, dog and cat, deserves a chance and the massmurder has to stop! There must be an other solution than this! Don’t let them suffer!
I am totally bewildered, shocked and disgusted by the degrading acts of inhumane treatment – who on earth would raise such atrocious hands of cruelty against any creatures ( and man’s best friend) is beyond my reasoning powers………….these people have got to be sick and void of any emotional ability to connect with animals: That’s a scary thought as they too may be raising the same sick thinking mindless cruelty through their off-springs….We need laws and we need them now with heavy heavy penalties and powers to lock people up. I am sick to death of seeing such barbaric treatment – this is not the dark ages – for gods sake – report these people and keep the pressure on PLEASE ………………………..
this is horrible animals are innocent and defenseless, these people should pay for what they are doing. animals are like children!!!!!
your people got barbaric treatment , Stop this barbaric treatment to these lovely feeling animals ! Are you still that backward that you still should be living in caves, That includes your parliament to! Eddie 15/9/2013. 8:55am
Please put a stop to this horrible cruelty with animals. They all belong to GOD’S kingdom. We will not accept this treatment towards animals.
Reblogged this on Girl for Animal Liberation.
There’s no reason for this kind of cruelty. End of discussion.
I want those murderers to suffer and die…..suffer and die….those murderers of the innocent. I wish I could bash them with my bare hands….Where are you GOD, why are you letting those scum bags cause so much suffering…I am so ashamed
Hi! Rita: I’m just so upset today after reading about this poor dog. These are GOD’S animals. How can these scum of the earth get away with this? They should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. In fact, make them suffer like Vucko had to. I’m so sick to my stomach over seeing this.
Those people see these poor, starving abused babies as vermin? The people responsible for this are the VERMIN & should be exterminated & I volunteer to help do the job!!!
“A pravednik se tiče života životinja” – Poslovice 12:10, “Ako imate ljude koji će isključiti bilo Božjeg stvorenja iz skloništa samilosti i sažaljenja, od vas će imati ljude koji će raditi isto tako sa svojim bližnjima” – Franjo Asiški, “Nadam se da ljudi shvate kako se potpuno bespomoćno su životinje, kako ovisi o nama, vjerovati kao dijete mora da ćemo biti ljubazan i brine o njihovim potrebama … (Oni) su obavezu stavio na nas , a odgovornost nemamo pravo zanemariti, niti kršiti po okrutnosti …. “- James Harriot, “što je veličina jednog naroda i njegov moralni napredak može se suditi po načinu njegove životinje, tretiraju” – Mahatma Gandhi
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“A righteous man regards the life of animals” – PROVERBS 12:10; “If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion & pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men” – FRANCIS OF ASSISI; “I hope to make people realize how totally helpless animals are, how dependent on us, trusting as a child must that we will be kind and take care of their needs…(They) are an obligation put on us, a responsibility we have no rights to neglect, nor to violate by cruelty….” – JAMES HARRIOT; “The greatness of a nation & its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” – MAHATMA GANDHI
Prevention through spaying & raising awareness is better than resorting to cruel practices. Lack of empathy & care reflects an inhumane brutal people, who’d want to ho there as a tourist?? ” A cruel man / nation brings trouble on himself / themselves” proverbs 11:17
We cant accept animal cruelty!
Quel peuple monstrueux.
Honte a ces ” personnes ” qui ne sont pas humaines
Please put a stop to this extreme cruelty! please look for the root cause of the issue and solve it.
arrêtez ces tortures macabres,ceux qui osent faire ça non qu”une pierre à la place du cœur,signer vite pour ne plus voir ça
Comment peut-on faire souffrir des petits êtres sensibles ? Ces atrocités sont inacceptables. L’animal est un don de DIEU. Respectez le monde animal SVP !
I want those cruel ugly monsters die in a horrific way! I believe in karma and I curse every evil human who can hurt those innocent soles! Oh God, please Help!
Natalia Gallo, USA
I want these people who are responsible for this horrific crime to be punished the same way. These animals belong to GOD & we are suppose to love them, take care of them, etc. PLEASE STOP THIS CRUELTY TOWARDS ANIMALS!!! THIS IS SO DISGUSTING THAT IT MADE ME SICK TO MY STOMACH WHEN I READ IT YESTERDAY ABOUT VUCKO!!! MAY HE R.I.P. I have a dog named ‘Pupsyboo’ who just looks like Vucko & he’s going to be 9 years old on September 25th, & I looked at him this morning & just couldn’t imagine hurting him like what Vucko went through. WHOEVER IS RESPONSIBLE, MAY YOU GET THE SAME TREATMENT THAT YOU GAVE THIS POOR INNOCENT DOG. YOU AREN’T EVEN HUMAN TO DO THIS ACT. EVENTUALLY, GOD IS GOING TO GET YOU FOR DOING THIS TERRIBLE THING.
What does it mean to be human? How awful.
People must be educated that cruelty, whether to human beings or animals, is utterly unacceptable.
A Bosnia debieron dejarla a merced de Karadzick, no habría llegado tan lejos en su barbarización, frenada por Yugoslavia…Sospecho que la influencia islámica algo debe tener que ver en el odio a los perros…
Please let me know how we can prevent these terrible acts of cruelty
Monica, signing the petition may help, I don’t know. Right now activists are preparing as much information for the next session of the BiH Parliament, October 5th 2013. At the session the issues about the animal welfare law in Bosnia will be heard – how it is NOT being implemented.
Examples of the law being violated are critically needed for presentation at the session — so we are raising funds for activists to visit the various so-called shelters and take photographs and document what is going on… if you can help that would be great. Donation details are on the page. Thanks so much.
Hi! Monica: I’ve been so sick since yesterday after seeing the video on VUCKO. How can anyone be so cruel towards an animal is beyond me? The people that did this, need to be punished severely. These animals belong to GOD & were given to us to protect them, not abuse them in any way. This is the most horrific crime of an animal that I’ve seen & they should be strung up until they die. Do you agree? Thanks. June Arseneault
C est vraiment honteux!je n ai meme pas les mots pour!!!!!
I am at a loss for words, that in day and age, there are STILL SO MANY UNEDUCATED PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. Lack of education, leads people to the abuse of animals without a morale compass,and to the law not recognizing the cause and effect this has as time goes on to then abuse of mankind.
if they must get rid of these poor souls,,why wont they do it humanely!!!! they are the animals!! horribly sickened by this evil inhumanity!! what a sad world we live in…
Stop the cruelty against dogs and cats! They deserve a chance! There must be another solution! Everybody wants to help in this, so don’t kill them and please, don’t be cruel!
Like one of the other people who made a comment, I keep praying to God asking why he isn’t coming down on these cruel/evil people who are committing these terrible crimes against animals. I am also sickened by these people in Bosnia. I want to see my prayers answered QUICKLY with regard to these terrible crimes. I keep praying to God but he is too slow on the draw with this issue — he needs to intercede in response to our prayers. He is the only higher power who can do this! Karma to these evil people!
And these are supposed to be human beings? Human beings are supposed to possess compassion and humanity. These idiots do not possess any of those traits if they can do this to another living creature. As far as I am concerned, those pieces of human garbage should be culled. I would rather see them suffer and die than any non human animal. One of many garbage countries full of human trash! The human being really is an overrated species that deserves to become extinct. Blaming the animals when it is the useless human animals stupid fault and their irresponsibility that has caused the overpopulation of dogs and cats.
je signe et si je pouvaie je signerai 100fois
Il faut arrêter ce massacre, se sont des êtres vivant, on ne peut tolérer une telle cruoté. Je signe cette pétition en espérant qu un jour tout cela s arrêtera
je signe
Stop torture!!
C’est vraiment dure de voir des animaux souffrir autant rien qu’a leurs regard sa veut tout dire!!!!! C’est dégoûtant de pouvoir faire autant de mal!!!!! Honte aux personnes qui font sa!!!!!
Stop a la maltraitance des animaux. On veut des peines! Des sanctions!!!!
Je signe évidemment
EMBARRASSED to be Bosnian! I have a cat and love him like his my child! It makes me sick that there are people like this. Unfortunately, Bosnian government can’t take care of our own people. I do not expect that they will do anything about the animals. I hope we accomplish something with this petition, but the reality is sad and dark!
he is*
someone should catch those people that are doing all those things to the poor defenseless animals and put them in a cage with a collars around their necks with no water or food and lets them feel what it is like to suffer. fucking ass hole people and that is why they kill each other in those country’s, they are still living in the 15th century… they deserve to be beaten and used as bait, how the fuck can people live with themselves, after doing that to dog or cat that just want to love them and be their friend
Don’t kill the dogs and cats! They deserve to live! There must be another solution to this problem. If you have a heart, don’t massacre these animals and surely not like this! People will help to solve the problem in a respectable way… if you let all of us know. Stop the torturing en killing!!!!
How can people do this to this wonderful animals. All this makes me sick. I have dog and cat companions and the love and loyalty they give us in priceless. It’s the government and society’s fault that this feeling and intelligent animals live on the streests. They are the victims and as humans we owe it to them to treat them humanly and provide them with safe and responsible homes.
How utterly inhuman for a so called human being to treat mans best friend like that.,, I have two small dogs and without them I would not be able to enjoy my life as much as I now do. I thank God for the placing of dogs on this earth for man to take care of and enjoy.
faut ecraser la vermine
Animal cruelty exists in every country. Look at our NFL star QBack Michael Vick. Is he representative of ALL Americans? I believe this article misrepresents the people of Bosnia. I have visited Bosnia numerous times and I have never witnessed such a thing. Plus, there is law against animal cruelty in Bosnia. This article is misleading.
Yes indeed, Animal Love, animal cruelty exists in every country. The law against animal cruelty in Bosnia is rarely, if ever enforced. Please read the story about Vucko, whose torturers were never charged. Nor were the people culpable for the beheading of the dog pictured. Have you visited the dog shelters of Bosnia? Have you spoken to the animal welfare activists on their findings? Please read the rest of the posts on this blog to gain a more truthful perspective of the situation in this country. Speak directly to the people who feed stray dogs and cats throughout the year in all temperatures, who have to deal with dogs and cats run over or beaten and left to die, dogs starving in the public shelters that are supposed to care for them. Speak to those who have worked in these shelters and seen how dogs are so-called ‘euthanised’.
Most abusers were not abused. They are just plain evil. How can Romania claim this is The Solution?! Evil. This must end. Some way…somehow…..The Pope,Presidents,Kings and Queens need to speak out on this sadistic cruelty.
c ignoble de voire c immonde et impensable une telle cruautée envers ces pauvres chiens ou autres animaux il faut que sa cesse
I don’t know what more |I can say. I’ve been very sick over this happening to this beautiful dog VUCKO. The people who did this need to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. If it was up to me, I would hang them upside down!!!