BOSNIA IS ABOUT TO IMPLEMENT A KILL LAW THAT REPLICATES WHAT IS HAPPENING IN ROMANIA. TO STOP THIS LAW COMING INTO EFFECT THE NEXT TWO WEEKS ARE CRITICAL.
It is crucial that everyone, especially in Europe, lobby their embassy and MEPs and also write letters to international welfare organisations. We need to keep the momentum, with press, meetings, lobbying and letters.
On Thursday the 3rd of October the Bosnia-Herzegovina Parliament held a debate on whether or not to change the existing animal welfare law to allow ‘euthanasia’ of dogs held in shelters for more than 14 days without adoption (see below if you think this is an effective means to curb stray populations).
Those opposing the change in the debate (local representatives from Dogs Trust, various pro-animal NGOs, ordinary citizens, veterinary experts from the Veterinary Faculty, professors, lawyers) spoke out strongly to oppose the changes. They took more room and were in all ways more articulate than those recommending the change. See this article on Klix.ba ( translated here: The problem of street dogs in Bosnia and Herzegovina: The solution is in registration, sterilization, and Punishment.)
However, the government representatives and in particular SDP representative Nermina Zaimović Uzunović (who originally presented a Bill on changes and amendments to the Animal Welfare and Protection Act at the assembly on July 6 2013) behaved as if they heard none of the facts, explanations of the cause of the problem and how to remedy the problem.
It will be hard to keep the law as is. The next 2 weeks are critical.
PLEASE SIGN AND SHARE THE NEW PETITIONS:
STOP BOSNIA FROM IMPLEMENTING KILL LAW!
And the same petition on Change.org https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/stop-bosnia-from-implementing-kill-law – it’s important to sign both petitions, thank you!
PLEASE GO TO OUR CAUSES.COM CAMPAIGN AND SHARE THE PLEDGE WITH AS MANY FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK AS YOU CAN.
There are other petitions you can sign.
What is even MORE important right now is to lobby your embassy representative in Bosnia Herzegovina and at home, and the Bosnian Embassy in your country, and your EU Member of Parliament.
Write a PERSONAL, POLITE LETTER asking them to strongly urge the Bosnia-Herzegovina government to not change the law but instead to start actually implementing it! (For a full translation of the existing law, please download this PDF.)
A DRAFT LETTER CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE (word document). PLEASE PERSONALISE, ADD YOUR NAME AT THE BOTTOM AND THE NAME OF THE PERSON YOU ARE SENDING IT TO AT THE TOP.
Find the Bosnia-Herzegovina Embassy in your own country:
http://embassy-finder.com/bosnia-and-herzegovina_embassies
Find your Embassy in Bosnia-Herzegovina:
http://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-in/bosnia-and-herzegovina
Find your MEP and write a personal letter to them as well.
See here to find any MEP in Europe – ‘Euromap’.
Also on the ACTION TO TAKE page there are further links and suggestions of particular MEPs to write to. Make sure to end your letter with your name and contact details.
THE NEXT TWO WEEKS ARE CRITICAL.
We need to keep the momentum, with press, meetings, lobbying, letters. Please also write to any and every international animal welfare organisations you can.
A key member of the animal welfare lobby has stated:
“We need to play this smart, plan good timing for every action and save some ammunition for the days and weeks to come!”
If you are from the UK, you can mention in your letter an incident concerning SDP representative Nermina Zaimović-Uzunović, the Member of House of representatives of Parliamentary Assembly who proposed amendments to the law. Nermina Zaimović-Uzunovi said she was disappointed the discussion focused on Dogs Trust and their project (spay-neuter of 3000 strays in June 2013 in Sarajevo) which was financed by “the Queen” – and that Dogs Trust only worked in their own interest and this interest was financed by the “Queen”. Instead of acknowledging the good work done by Dogs Trust, and at great expense, she dismisses it, and certainly does not acknowledge that if her changes come into effect, the 3000 dogs sterilised by Dogs Trust will probably be killed. What a waste!
If you have been reading this blog (see in particular this post, and this) you will know that to reverse or change the existing law (which, although not implemented, has an excellent basis for a humane management programme) for a kill law will be a disaster for a number of reasons, not least of which:
- It will damage Bosnia-Herzegovina’s international image
- It will fail
- It will allow wholesale murder of stray dogs and cats
We already have documentation of how ‘shelters’ tend to ‘euthanise’ animals: by clubbing, injections of bleach and so on. So you can be sure that if the existing animal welfare law is changed, such means of ‘euthanisation’ will become commonplace.
Also, the studies on management of stray dog and cat population are unanimous in that euthanisation is NOT the most effective way to control populations. Euthanasia deals only with the symptoms and not the cause of the problem. It is expensive, inhumane and will not provide a permanent solution. Studies have shown that TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) and CNR (Catch-Neuter-Return) programmes are far more effective (and far more humane) than euthanasia to reduce the street animal population. Please read this post for more information.
Please join the Facebook Event for latest news and updates: STOP BOSNIA FROM IMPLEMENTING KILL LAW
PLEASE SIGN THE PETITIONS!
RELATED POSTS ON THIS BLOG:
- THE HORROR SHELTERS OF BOSNIA – SOMETHING MUST BE DONE!
- Bosnia Killing Dogs – No Different to Romania!
- BOSNIA! IMPLEMENT HUMANE STRAY-DOG AND CAT POPULATION CONTROL AND TREATMENT
- 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”
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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 
Reblogged this on Girl for Animal Liberation.
Reblogged this on Sherlockian's Blog and commented:
Please help stop this inhumane cruelty from being inflicted on innocent and unsuspecting dogs.
Reblogged this on Wolf Is My Soul.
JESUS CHRIST>>>>WHAT IS WRONG>>>>WHY ARE YOU NOT INTERVENING AND STOPPING THE SCUM OF THE EARTH FROM CAUSING SO MUCH SUFFERING >>>>WHY WHY WHY WHY?
Please please stop this horrific cruelty – my heart is broken!
I was planning to visit bosnia and have a holiday but the minute I saw this news, I changed my idea. I have dog and also feeding stray dogs in my neighbourhood, we love them like our children. I dont know how animal lovers will live such a terriorist country
STOP CRUEL TO ANIMAL!!!
This policy is cowardly and abhorrent, lacking any humanity and it needs to be reconsidered immediately.
This horrific scenario has to be stopped immediately!!! 😦
Dear Lord I have been praying to you for so long now to stop this cruelty happening. Please, we cannot seem to get this right and the pain and suffering these poor animals are going through is just tearing animal lovers apart. We cannot accept this kind of cruelty to take place. Lord stop this from happening. The world is going mad!!
Please dear Heavenly Father, you love all You have created. Please help! We praise you and thank you in advance.
STOP THIS CRUELTY!!! WHY………………..??? CASTREDT THEM IT IS MUCH BETTER!!!! BUT STOP KILLING AND STOP CRUELTY ON THIS POOR ANIMALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stop this inhuman murder, that is not taken in you as well !!!!
I’m in no way racist, but surely these people are abnormally backward : ( Why do the governments in these countries always think the answer is kill kill kill? I think they’re completely insane, and that’s a nice way to put it… Why won’t they take responsibility for a situation created by their own people, and then change things in a cruelty-free, humane manner?
Stop this madness!!!
Stop with this cruelty that cannot give a picture of a mankind dignity.
Humans will get everything back what they give. Bad things or good things – this is a law of the universe.
STOP this horrible criminal act what currently happens on the dogs of the street.
The fat cats in the Euro don’t care as long as they have their nice way of life.
The email address for the Canadian Embassy is incorrect. It appears to be connected to the Embassy in Hungary and the correct information therefore is:
Embassy of Canada in Hungary
bpest@international.gc.ca
1027 Budapest, Ganz u. 12-14
Tel.: +36 1 392-3360
Fax: +36 1 392-3390
My letter has been sent as well as a copy to the Bosnian Embassy here in Canada.
Those innocent defenceless creatures don´t deserve such a cruelty! What kind of offence they commited?
All those silent killers, they never give a reason, they´ll never tell you why, they just let them die… with their institutional seal of approval!
Prosím, ať už konečně zvítězí zdravý rozum a lidskost !!! Mám tři pejsky, tři kočky z ulice, zvíře cítí bolest, radost, strach, lásku, stejně jako člověk !!! Není to věc !!! Je to živá bytost a tak by s ní mělo být zacházeno. Aby zvíře trpělo díky lidem je zrůdné !!! Nedůstojné člověka. Máme přírodu a vše ostatní chránit a ničíme zatím vše, co nám přijde pod ruky. Jakou asi chystáme budoucnost našim dětem?
This is truly disgusting acts of cruelty there is just no need to treat these animals in this way. What a society this country is it makes me so angry at these people who seem to enjoy inflicting pain on innocent animals.
Yes, the correct email from Canada for the Bosnia and Herzegovina Embassy would appear to be
info@bhembassy.ca.
Rita
The link to the Canadian Embassy in Bosnia did not work. This is the link to the Bosnian Embassy in Ottawa, embassyofbih@bellnet.ca
STOP-MUČENJU!!!POMAGAJMO!
“How we treat our pets and animals is indicative of how we treat human beings” – an we know what Bosnia is capable of when it comes to human beings ..
Please help these dogs. They are innocent!
It’s ridiculous that they’re allowing such a disgusting law to be passed
This hurts my heart. Animals have souls and needs just as humans do. I realize this is a Country torn apart by War but it cannot forget about all citizens. Animals need us to speak for them, just look at these images and if they do not stir something inside you to make things right for them, I don’t know what will. People have a hard enough time finding food and shelter for themselves, I can understand why they do not have animal rights as a top priority even though I feel they should. Killing stray animals is senseless and cruel. I am certain there is something else that could be done. Get the dogs off the streets, give them the medical attention and care they need to become adoptable and create a shelter where volunteers can look after them while advertising all over the country for families to come an adopt. Spay and Neutering needs to be implemented. Education about the need is the problem. Please don’t kill innocent animals that are viable family members. Find another solution, and fast. They should not be left to suffer they are God’s creatures too.
Dogs are innnocent creatures like children. They diserve to live and to be loved.
The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
Mahatma Ghandi
glauben sie gott will das wir so zu unseren mitgeschöpfen sind?
wer sich an whrlosen tieren vergreift macht auch vor seines gleichen nicht halt!!
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THE ANIMALS ARE HUMAN NOT THE DOGS!
Nothing has changed with the Leaders of these Countries. Just a couple of years ago their own people cried because of the way they were being treated so what can you expect from their Leaders in the present concerning animals.
Please don’t allow this law to come into action these poor dogs an cats don’t deserve this treatment it’s not there fault thy are unwanted with no living family why don’t the animals get desexed an let go there is no need for such horrific cruel things to be done to these poor unloved animals put a stop to this from happening its not fair pkse
Stop this inhuman murder, that is not taken in you as well !!!!
Il faut faire quelque chose pour l’humanité entière
It is this medieval nation that will enter Europe in 2014! What a shame that the leaders have made the decision to kill these poor animals under conditions of extreme suffering. Must be boycoter this country!
I am floored.unable to react decently than to punch these people with everything I can have.The European Union is a lazy,money absorbing and uneffective organisation proved by now.Please,send them a copy of all the animal abuse and killings happening in Europe.
Please send me the name and adress of the responsible in the European Government Headquaters.By this I want to say that animals and little children are my number one priority.They love unconditionally and trust us.I have prayed to madness and ask now’ WHERE are you God?
Gandhi said “You can judge a nation by how they treat animals”.
You are monsters! You do not deserve to live!
per favore fermate queste atrocità. STOP CRUEL TO ANIMALS PLEASE
pourquoi êtes vous des monstres, le diable est incarné par vous.Qu’ont ils fait ces chiens????et nos rues sont peuplées de vos gens, qui volent et autres… et si on leur faisait pareil… pensez y , vous l’horreur, vous êtes dêgoutant
cruelty beyond believe STOP THIS ITS BARBARICK
There Is No Need!!! Your country will be classed as barbaric if you carry on treating innocent animals in this way and if you carry on I hope you all end up with a similar even worse fate!!!!!!!
Pour la France/For France,
les adresses emails pour envoyer le modèle de lettre sont/Email addresses for sending the draft letter are:
amb.pariz@mvp.gov.ba
sarajevo.consulaire@diplomatie.gouv.fr
to zwyczajne bestialstwo i barbarzyństwo STOP PRZEMOCY!!!ZWIERZĘTA TO PRZECIEŻ NASI BRACIA MNIEJSI!!!!!!!
The civility of a nation can be judged by how they treat their animals. If you have even one ounce of compassion in your body, rise up, and TELL your government how they are making you look like barbaric uncaring savages to the entire world. Put a stop to this cruelty at once! It only takes one person to make a difference. Will that someone be you?
the world is watching. stop this mad idea. implement humane policies and current animal law for properly run shelters and CNR policies. work with animal charities/advocates.DO THE RIGHT THING
Please spare these innocent animals. Protect the. Don’t destroy them.
Stop this cruelty immediately!!! Have you no heart or sympathy or empathy at all?