By Dalida Kozlic
Una – Sana Canton is one of the most notorious cantons in Bosnia, where illegal killings of stray dogs frequently occur. On the 25th November (Independence Day of Bosnia and Herezgeovina), an unknown group caught and killed dozens of stray dogs in the municipality of Bosanska Krupa. According to the initial information from the field, killers are members of a hunting organisation and this illegal and criminal act has been financed by the authorities of the municipality Bosanska Krupa.
Citizens of Bosanska Krupa were shocked by the incidents in their town, especially after a badly injured dog, which had somehow managed to escape killers, was found in the centre of the town. The dog has a very critical fracture of the jaw and many injuries on his body. The fracture is serious because the jaw is completely separated from the rest of the skull, but the veterinarian has decided to try to save this horrifically injured dog. External fixators were applied in order to stabilize bone and soft tissues at a distance from the operative or injury focus.
Also, more dog corpses were found in the town.
A criminal report will be filed with the Prosecutor’s Office of Una – Sana Canton against all persons who are suspected to be part of the organisation that financed and committed these criminal offences.
As is obvious from this cruel case, groups of hunters still operate in many areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the goal of killing stray dogs and being paid for their notorious and illegal actions. Some of the best paid work for hunters is the killing of stray dogs, which often takes place in small and not so very well known parts of Bosnia.
Funds are needed not only to help individual rescues but also to continue our advocacy work in Bosnia Herzegovina, 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 . 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.
This dog died a horrible death yesterday, he was in Prnjavor public dog shelter. He died because of a dog fight. If he had been in his own kennel, he may still be alive today.
Bojan, who volunteers his time to try and help the dogs in this shelter writes: “He was a male dog. We got to him and pulled him out. he was in an awful condition. I did I best I could on the spot with the wounds. I gave him antibiotics right away and sprayed the wounds with disinfectant. Then the vet came to take him to the office… but he was gone by the time he got there. He’d lost too much blood.”
This is a photograph of him when he was alive: This is the second dog who has recently died in a dog fight in the shelter. One reason is if the dogs are not sterilised. The other reason is overcrowding in the kennels (we have a fundraiser to make sure all dogs are sterilised). It is not easy to keep aggressive dogs separate from the others.
Thanks to contributions by Stichting Dierennood we are helping fund 10 new kennels.
But there still will be not nearly enough kennels for the dozens of dogs in this shelter, with new dogs coming in all the time!
If we can get 15 more kennels made, then Bojan can ensure that any aggressive dogs are kept to their kennel and chained. This is not an ideal situation for a dog, but we cannot have another death like this!
Just 35 euros (about 40 USD) means a home and safety for one of these dogs!
There is a YouCaring Fundraiser set up to fund these kennels: If you wish to make a direct donation via PayPal, you can do so to the PayPal account: donations@awabosnia.org – please mark your donation as ‘Prnjavor Kennels’
NO AMOUNT IS TOO SMALL, thank you!
Please look through the images in the slideshow below and if you can offer a home to one of these dogs, contact us at info@awabosnia.org. (Note that some of the photographs are taken by a professional photographer who donated his time. They are beautiful photos, and they do make the shelter look quite nice, please be assured that this is NOT a place for dogs to live in. Bojan does the best he can, simply because he loves dogs, spending hours every day without any pay).
Also Bojan is asking all animal lovers to take a look at the photographs on his Facebook wall and in this album and contact him if they would like to adopt a dog. Anyone interested can reach him via e-mail at veselica@gmail.com.
Prnjavor is a town in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina and is a part of the Republika Srpska. The RS law limits a dogs stay in shelter to 30 days. If no one has offered to adopt a dog in this shelter after 30 days, the dog is euthanised. Thanks to Bojan, a lone volunteer who is really caring for these shelter dogs, some of the dogs find homes and he tries to get the 30 day stay extended for those who are on death row. It is not possible to separate males and females in this shelter, so if the dogs are not sterilised, more lives are brought into the world to suffer, living in sub-standard conditions.
Please help us to make the conditions for these dogs more bearable. Please help us to prevent terrible suffering.
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.
This is Precious. Two days ago, her rescuer, Fahrudin Caki Bravo, told us:
“This innocent soul is only 4 months old, but she has already had a horrible destiny so far… Some monster from Sarajevo threw her of a bridge, 7-8 meters high. She weighs only 5 kilos… The police was informed as this action was witnessed but the monster ran off and nobody could find him or this baby. Finally a lady found the puppy crawling down the street, in the middle of the pouring rain… Many people just walked by her while she was dragging the back of her body down the wet concrete. She was brought to the vet and received first aid and they also did an X-ray… She has a complicated back injury… Please help me save her. Her debt at the moment is 105e for boarding and 30e for the X-ray. She will also need Rimadil and diapers…. I`m so disgusted by all this that I don`t know what to write anymore….”
The bridge….
And the little soul, at the vets…
The vet in Sarajevo told Caki that she needs an MRI which is not available in Bosnia. He drove her to Split, where she received a full examination.
In Caki’s car, on the way to getting help….
The kind vet refused to charge, saying this was her contribution to the dogs of Sarajevo. However, the sad news is that Precious has a spinal injury which needs immediate operation, which can be done in Zagreb. Caki is driving her to Zagreb, and she’ll be operated on tomorrow. The cost for the operation will be around 700 or 800 euros.
If you can help, we have set up a YouCaring: Or you can make a donation directly via Paypal to: donations@awabosnia.org and mark for ‘Precious’.
Caki was one of the people helping the most in the terrible floods of 2014, spending his days saving lives. When the dog killers descended on Sarajevo to ‘clean the streets’ in anticipation of the Popes visit he spent hours trying to find his local furry friends. The strays he had loved, fed and cared for over months or years, many lives were lost but he was there to coax the lucky ones out from their hiding places.
He has 39 rescues in pension and struggles terribly to raise the funds necessary to keep them safe off the streets and away from the dog catchers. Precious’s additional costs will break him. We are hoping people will step up and help – every amount makes a difference, no matter how small. Every euro makes a difference.
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.
On the 12th of July, volunteers of the Association for Saving and Protecting Animals “SAPA Zenica”, after receiving allegations from citizens, organized a search and discovered the bodies of 6 dogs in the area of Zenica called Kamenolom, some 6km from the city center. Four bodies were found on one spot, thrown in the river banks, and two bodies some 100m upstream, in a very hard to reach area. allegedly more dogs are missing and more bodies were seen but the unknown perpetrators moved the corpses. Half of the dogs had ear tags (showing they had been sterilised), and volunteers easily identified and recognized the dogs, including some dogs who had no ear tags.
All the dogs had visible trauma inflicted on them by human hands, numerous wounds. It is suspected they were hit repeatedly until dead. Blood traces were visible on the head, body, coming from the ears and the mouth. All the dogs were from the city center. The were clearly caught and killed and then transported into this river bank area to be discarded. On the location where two bodies were found, a dog collar was hanging on a tree above.
SAPA Zenica immediately informed the local media, the Municipal authorities, the Cantonal Veterinary Inspection, and the Police, and they will file charges to the Prosecutor’s office, on the basis that several criminal acts have been committed.
SAPA volunteers had a sterilization weekend that week, 11-12 July, in another action to help the wider community by ensuring dogs are sterilized, vaccinated, ear tagged, and that the rise of population is prevented. To discover this in the midst of the sterilization campaign was agonizing, the volunteers having known these dogs for years.
The next day, citizens reported more missing dogs, especially in one part of Zenica, and also found a witness who, on the 12 July around 00:30h in one part of Zenica prevented more dogs from being killed. They spotted a white van, no number plates, and two males in the van, one with a gun, stepping out and calling dogs. This responsible citizen prevented them from killing and catching dogs in that street but didn’t call the police immediately. He gave a description and chronology of this incident which SAPA Zenica also reported to police.
After the media reported these atrocities, shocking public comments were also reported to police, especially on Facebook from the “Stop Ugriz” (Stop dog bites) group which is known for spreading hatred, encouraging violence, and inciting others to perpetrate killings of dogs.
Fighting an “invisible“ enemy is most difficult, as it is suspected that a group of people is organized and hired to privately “deal” with the “issue” in this cruel manner.
SAPA Volunteers reported about this on their FB page, informed all citizens publicly and alerted all people who feed animals to be on watch, on alert and on guard and to prevent atrocities and to call the police.
We need to stop this and make police and authorities identify perpetrators instead of turning a blind eye. SAPA Zenica and our dogs need your help.
Please help SAPA Zenica, a registered NGO, to investigate this atrocity and to prevent others. They do incredible work, feeding and sterilising and giving medical care to wounded and sick strays, but they need financial help. You can donate directly via Paypal to sapazenica09@yahoo.com – or you can donate via bank transfer:
UniCredit Bank d.d.
SWIFT: UNCRBA22
Address of the bank: Kardinala Stepinca b.b. Mostar
Details of beneficiary:
IBAN CODE: BA 393385804819527135
Full beneficiary’s name: Udruzenje za spasavanje i zastitu zovotinja SAPA Zenica
Funds are needed not only to help individual rescues but also to continue our advocacy work in Bosnia Herzegovina, 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 . 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.
______________________________________________
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.
The management of Coal Mine Breza, Bosnia Herzegovina, ordered and implemented a mass extermination of stray dogs last week.
More than 25 stray dogs, which had lived in the area, were killed during the past weekend. Employees of the mine, which is owned by the Public company Elektroprivreda, Bosnia’s second-largest power utility, noticed that dozens of stray dogs were missing in the area of the coal mine. After many conversations with employees, it has been found that more than 25 stray dogs were killed in the area of the coal mine on the 17th of May.
According to the statement of witnesses, the management of the coal mine, which is led by a director who is a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), ordered members of the hunting organisation from Breza to kill all strays in the area of the mine. Two years ago the SDP party proposed amendments to the Act on Protection and Welfare of Animals, amendments which would have allowed the killing of healthy, stray animals.
Two notorious hunters, who have been reported dozens of times committing criminal offences of torturing and killing animals, shot the stray dogs on the 17th May. The criminal report against the hunters and the management of the coal mine was filed in the police station Breza yesterday. Also, the Prosecutor’s office of Canton Zenica – Doboj was informed about these offenders.
Medo is a dog from the coal mine. He was saved from the coal mine just a week before the mass killing. Medo was hit by car in front of the coal mine and employees had been feeding him. Employees asked many people to help the dog but no one wanted to provide veterinary care for him including bosses and management of the coal mine. Medo is now safe and he is recovering from injuries, but the dog has not been able to walk since then and all his friends are gone since no one was aware of the dire acts being planned for the stray dogs in the area.
Note:Dalida Kozlic had posted on her Facebook page the following just two weeks ago:
“My dad received a phone call from employees of coal mine in Breza today. They told him that one dog had been hit by car in front of coal mine on Monday. Employees of coal mine have been feeding him, but the dog couldn’t walk since then. Also, they have asked many people to help the dog but no one has wanted to provide a veterinary care for him including bosses and management of the coal mine. My dad, our vet and I went to coal mine had gone to goal mine and found the dog that was in bushes. We took him to the veterinary station immediately. The dog was exhausted and dehydrated. Also, we found a wire near his neck. The vet says that his skin and hips aren’t injured, but his right last paw is badly injured as well as joints of the left paw, because of those injuries he is unable to walk. The dog will be x rayed next week. He was treated by the vet with analgesics, vitamins, antibiotics and many other medications. After treatment had finished, we took him to the vet’s pension. I will need your help to pay medications and treatments for this wonderful gentle giant. We named him Medo (Bear; in English).”
Dalida needs our help. Not just for Medo and his veterinary costs, but for 85 rescued dogs and 8 rescued cats. Without Dalida these animals would be starving or dead. Without Dalida, the situation for all strays in the country would be even more dire than it is. She desperately needs support to pay for her rescues’ pension costs, medical costs and food. If you can help, please go to the YouCaring: https://www.youcaring.com/DalidasRescues
If you prefer to donate directly via Paypal, you may use the following Paypal address: eldar.kozlic1@gmail.com. Once you have made a donation via the YouCaring or directly via Paypal, please click confirm receipt otherwise the funds are not available to Dalida for some weeks.
Funds are needed not only to help individual rescues but also to continue our advocacy work in Bosnia Herzegovina, 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 . 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.
______________________________________________
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.
There is an increasing number of cases of animal abuse in countries of the south-eastern Balkans. Animal rights activists and organisations for the protection of animals are daily faced with cases of the worst forms of animal abuse. Some of these cases have been covered by the media, as it was the case of a dog called Mila whose all paws were cut off in Belgrade, four years ago. Mila was saved by activists. There were cases of putting firecrackers in the mouths of dogs in Sarajevo and Zagreb in 2011 and 2013; unfortunately both dogs had to be euthanized, because of the terrible injuries that had been sustained.
In Prijedor, 3rd May 2015, Bosnia Herzegovina, Alen Bahonjic killed Hasan Alic who was 74 years old. Alen Bahonjic used a hammer to kill Hasan Alic and the motive for this murder was greed. Alen Bahonjic was arrested. The Prosecutor’s office will issue an indictment. It is interesting that Alen Bahonjic has already committed criminal offences including a criminal offence of torturing and killing of animals. He killed two senior stray dogs in Prijedor in 2014. He was arrested because of the criminal offence but obviously the Bosnian legal system only reacted after he had killed a man. These cases present the cruel reality of the Bosnian legal system that has good legislation but lack of implementation.
Animal abuse can be a symptom of a personality disorder: the disorder of society as a whole.
The tendency to abuse, torture and kill animals is one of the most important symptoms of a psychopath / sociopath. Psychopaths or sociopaths are people without conscience, who enjoy abusing animals and humans. Those people usually behave and look like normal people.
Zoo sadism is the term for pleasure (psychological, physical or sexual) gained from abusing animals. Psychologists, forensic psychologists and psychiatrists consider that the reason behind someone abusing animals is childhood trauma, sexual and violent fantasies, different kinds of frustration and a desire for control over the helpless creature. However, the most important thing is that the goal of animal abuse is manipulation and a desire to inflict physical and psychological pain to a being that cannot defend itself. The abuser of animals has no conscience; he does not sympathize with other living beings. It is documented that many serial killers were animal abusers. People who abuse animals are aware that it is prohibited by law and punishable as a morally appalling act, but the desire to manipulate and to express their own complex via hurting helpless creature is so strong they can only keep repeating the sadistic acts.
Animal abusers are rarely mentally ill people, but animal abuse is a symptom of severe mental disorder. The mentally ill are rarely aware of the consequences of their actions, while the mentally disturbed are aware of their actions and their consequences. Animal abusers are psychopaths who intentionally know what they do and who are fully aware of their actions and the consequences, but do not empathize with other living beings. The most important thing for them is to be satisfied by expressing power and control over the helpless creature and thus find ease for their frustrations and / or complexes.
Animal abusers often seem like harmless people. Often they live a usual and normal life, yet animal abusers are five times more prone to commit violence against people, compared to the rest of the populace. Often trying sadistic methods leads to the harassment of people. Also, many killers of animals used animals to practice on, and then are able to effectively abuse and killing people.
Child animal abusers are potentially very dangerous people and usually exceed the performance of serious criminal offences.
“Murderers very often start out by killing and torturing animals when they were children,” says Robert K. Ressler, who worked on the development of profiles of serial killers for the FBI.
Also research from the FBI, and the world’s other police and security agencies have shown that animal cruelty is one of the common factors that appear regularly in the computer records of serial rapists and murderers.
Professional literature for diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric and emotional disorders lists cruelty to animals as a diagnostic criterion for the treatment of these disorders.
Lack of action by the society towards animal abuse and abusers indicates that the society is not ready to enter into its “dark spheres.” Specifically, in the western developed countries there are also cases of severe animal abuse, however, any such case is covered by the media and the general public is involved in finding the offenders, and the names of animal abusers and murderers are publicly disclosed. Also, the sanctions for offenders are rigorous and exercise a preventive and repressive function. Most importantly, the authorities are consistent in identifying and punishing animal abusers. Western society understands that animal abuse is a serious anomaly in the behaviour and psyche of man, and therefore many efforts are made to prevent animal abusers and killers.
The problem in Bosnia and Herzegovina is that the protection of animals is often identified with the financial situation in the country. It is a complete absurdity.
Financing services for the protection of animals is not an expensive processs which can be financed only by economically developed countries. On the contrary, the construction and funding of animal shelters and services for the protection of animals is the cheapest and the most effective option to protect animals.
Bosnian society does not understand that animals are unable to fight for themselves and there is a complete lack of empathy for those who suffer. This means that this society as a whole has a pathological feature. What individuals and this society does not want to understand is that animal abusers are people with pathological personality features who tend to become abusers and killers of people (if not already). Prosecution and sanctioning of animal abusers are the basic functions of protecting animals. Special prevention sends a message to abusers that if they reoffend their offence against animals, they are to be arrested and punished. The general prevention message is sent to the society. The state and the judiciary do not tolerate animal abuse, and the problem is recognized as a deep social anomaly and that each abuser is to be punished. This is not happening in Bosnia Herzegovina.
“Research in psychology and criminology has proved that violent behavior towards animals may be the first sign of pathological violence that inevitably leads to human casualties.”
Funds are needed not only to help individual rescues but also to continue our advocacy work in Bosnia Herzegovina, 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 . 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.
______________________________________________
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.
A number of stray dogs have been killed in Banovici during the past few days. Mass slaughter of dogs started when two unknown persons were shooting dogs from their car. Citizens of Banovici have found corpses of dead dogs in many parts of the town including streets in the centre of Banovici. After this illegal and brutal massacre had started, many citizens of Banovici started saving of dogs from Banovici.
An improvised shelter was built on private property near Banovici: over 100 dogs have been placed in an improvised shelter and food, blankets and medications are needed for saved animals. It is extraordinary that people have organised such wonderful and humane action in order to save stray dogs from brutal killers.
Killing of stray dogs was reported to local police. Also, a criminal report will be filled to Prosecutor’s office against unknown persons because they have committed a criminal offence of torturing and killing of animals.
Note: Animal rescuer Duner Rajs has been involved in rescuing the dogs of Banovici. Please visit his Facebook page. Just today there are new photos of dogs in plastic bags having been thrown in a river near Grivičke school. The situation is horrific. If you wish to send donations towards helping the dogs of Banovici, please follow the instructions below, but be sure to mark you donation for ‘Banovici’.
Funds are needed not only to help individual rescues but also to continue our advocacy work in Bosnia Herzegovina, 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 . 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.
______________________________________________
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.
Stray dogs have always been killed in Bosnia. Before the legislation of the Act on Protection and Welfare of Animals in 2009, organised groups of hunters had killed stray dogs in all cities, even in the middle of the day. It had been illegal, but no one had wanted to investigate and punish hunters because they had received a lot of money from Bosnian municipalities for these atrocities.
The Act on Protection and Welfare of Animals of Bosnia and Herzegovina was legislated and entered into force by the Parliamentary Assembly in 2009. Also, torturing and killing animals is a criminal offence in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to provisions of the Act on Protection and Welfare of Animals every municipality is obliged to establish and finance shelters for stray animals as well as hygienic services that are obliged to catch and transport stray animals to veterinary stations and shelters. Two very important ordinances were legislated in 2010: Ordinances on both establishing shelters and the conditions that shelters for stray animals and hygienic services must fulfil. Both ordinances provide very strict and humane ways of establishing and maintaining of shelters and hygienic services. Bosnia and Herzegovina has one of the best animal welfare legislations in Europe, but the reality is different and cruel for stray animals.
There are many illegal shelters for stray animals that are established and led by persons who are close to Bosnian authorities. Politically eligible persons construct so-called shelters for stray animals, which have the function of concentration camps, and they invoice false spay/neuter programs, as well as for food that would never be given to animals; veterinary examinations and treatment, and the means for euthanasia. In fact. animals are tortured and killed in those shelters constantly. Animals are beaten, cut, clubbed, raped or tortured in many horrific ways. Animals do not have water, food, accommodation, they freeze or they are exposed to extremely high temperatures. Also, animals are killed with wires, clubs, glass shreds, poison and also fire arms. While all these atrocities happen, local authorities finance people who own those shelters. Also, there are many illegal hygienic services that receive money from budgets of different municipalities. Those hygienic services kill stray animals, but they receive money for food, medications, treatments, catching of stray animals as well as their placement as they are alive.
Nobody knows how many illegal public shelters exists in Bosnia. There are public shelters in Praca, Hresa, Gladno Polje, Hadzici, Tesanj, Jajce, Bratunac, Bihac, Sanski Most, Banja Luka, Prnjavor, Doboj, Trebinje, Foća, Goražde.
In some of those shelters activists and rescuers are allowed to come and feed and help dogs. Those shelters are Gadno Polje, Banja Luka and Prnajvor. Conditions are very bad and activists struggle to help dogs, but at least dogs are not illegally killed and they are fed and treated. Since municipalities do not give enough money for those shelters, and food and veterinary costs are financed by activists and donators. It is not good solution because local authorities must fulfil their legal obligations and finance shelters in accordance with Act on Protection and Welfare of Animals, but it is the only way to keep an eye on authorities and protect stray dogs in those shelters. It is necessary to work constantly on legalisation of those shelters and adjustment of shelters as it is required by the law.
Praca shelter, the only registered and the biggest shelter in Bosnia also has a lot of problems. It is overcrowded, but at least people are allowed to donate some food and medications for dogs. This shelter should have been financed by all municipalities of Canton Sarajevo, but after it had been published how much budget money had been spent for illegal activities, the shelter was forgotten but many new dogs have been placed there.
The situation is much worse in shelters that cannot be visited by anyone. It is common practice to establish illegal shelters – pounds in former military buildings that are no longer used by the Bosnian military. Those buildings are hidden, surrounded by hectares of the land and huge fences. Those places are perfect for killing of stray dogs. Most of them were built by the former Yugoslavian army and therefore they were very complicated to be visited or to see what it was going one in there.
One of such former military base that is used as illegal pound is the casern Safet Zajko in Sarajevo, which is used by a notorious and illegal group of dog catchers that has been established in municipality Novi Grad Sarajevo. There have been killed thousands of stray dogs.
Also, illegal pounds have been established in former military buildings in Hadzici, Tesanj and Jajce. No one has ever visited those buildings. Local people have confirmed as well as local authorities that “shelters” have been established in those buildings. There are no records of how many dogs have been caught and placed there. Caught dogs that are taken in those buildings have never been found again.
The pattern is similar with other illegal shelters, which are not placed in former military buildings. Most of them are placed in some unusual, old and destroyed buildings.
Because of the obvious money laundering through illegal shelters, Bosnian authorities want to have more stray dogs on the streets. If there are a lot of dogs on the streets, than more dogs can be killed and more money can be stolen. If people abandon dogs and if stray dogs are not spayed/neutered, then there will always be enough dogs to be killed by corrupt authorities who take money for dead dogs.
The only solution that can save Bosnian stray animals is to implement Act on Protection and Welfare of Animals in all its provisions and to establish system that is provided by the law.
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.
______________________________________________
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.
As reported widely on online media portals, citizens of Donji Vakuf in Bosnia have poisoned a large number of stray dogs in the last few days, actively violating the Animal Protection and Welfare law of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the worst possible way. The law unequivocally prohibits indiscriminate killing of abandoned animals and prescribes punishment for abandoning and torturing abandoned animals. The Criminal Code of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, specifically Article 318, defines torture and killing of animals as a criminal offense that carries a prison sentence of up to one year.
The perpetrator(s) of this crime are currently unknown. We have been told: “The local residents are systematically poisoning the dogs using various means that range from mixing crushed glass with their food, to using Demestos and various other toxins. Everyone is aware of what is happening and they are all keeping quiet.”
A video was taken of this dog during its last moments, after being poisoned (we do not know why the dog was not immediately taken to a vet):
The dogs were poisoned on city streets, in the doorways of buildings, in the city parks. The Veterinary Station of Donji Vakuf has confirmed that poison was used to kill the dogs, given the symptoms. The veterinary station stated that half the dogs killed had been sterilised in the local campaign.
“In this way, the perpetrator of this crime by poisoning dogs has broken the intentions of our institution and the Municipality of Donji Vakuf that control of the dog population is implemented through sterilization,” stated Addis Ždralović, Director of the Veterinary Station Donji Vakuf. This information has been confirmed by the authorities in the municipality of Donji Vakuf.
The first case of poisoned dogs was recorded on Sunday, March 01, just two days after Radio Donji Vakuf published information neutering of dogs in Donji Vakuf had begun, in cooperation with the Veterinary Station and Mayor of Donji Vakuf. We have also been notified that an owned dog was poisoned and died.
Residents have used this brutal and unlawful method to tackle a problem that will have consequences on the consciousness of younger generations, sending a message that breaking the law goes unpunished and that it is acceptable to torture and kill animals. The silence of the inspectors, veterinarians, and police, who do nothing to investigate these atrocities and punish the perpetrators is shocking.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina torture and killing animals is a common occurrence. In adults the offence is punishable by fine or imprisonment, however the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators of such crimes very rarely occur.
You will find links to other reports of such crimes at the end of this blog.
FOUR THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP:
1. Please send emails and faxes to the officials involved in the Donji Vakuf municipality, letting them know you are aware of what is happening and that it contravenes the laws of the country. Please ask them to ensure this incident does notdiscourage further sterilisation programs, that they must engage the support of the local police and media in implementing these programs. Please ask them to investigate this crime and to ensure that the populace are informed about the animal welfare laws of the country and the humane procedures that can be successfully enforced to ensure control of stray dog populations, and that in fact killing animals is not a solution, on the contrary, the problem is further complicated because animals migrate and the territory of the killed dogs becomes occupied by other, less socialized individuals.
You may use the following letter as a draft. Please personalise the letter, addressing the person you are sending it to, and signing it with your name:
*****
Dear
We are aware of the recent illegal poisoning and killing of dogs in Donji Vakuf. We understand that citizens have even killed dogs who are already sterilised under a publicly funded campaign. We ask that you ensure the perpetrators of this vile act are brought to justice, and that the citizens of your municipality are educated regarding the effective and legal method of curbing the stray dog population: TNR (trap, neuter, release). We ask you to ensure the government authorities, the police, the local media and the veterinary inspectorate work together in implementing the BiH animal welfare laws and continue to implement sterilisation of stray dogs. Dog shelters are not the solution, as is evidenced throughout Bosnia Herzegovina whereby these ‘shelters’ become worse than concentration camps for dogs and are used to launder public money.
The animal welfare laws of Bosnia Herzegovina are good, applicable laws but the issue of the failure of the BiH authorities to apply even the barest minimum of the law to ensure the safety of the animals must be immediately addressed. We are sure you are aware of the numerous studies showing that those who are cruel to animals are likely to commit crimes against people. Furthermore, if you do not bring the perpetrators to justice, you send a message to the younger generations that breaking the law goes unpunished and that it is acceptable to torture and kill animals.
We urge you to implement internationally agreed-upon guiding principles on humane stray dog population control and management and allocate resources to ensure such principles are followed in an ongoing and systematic manner, which is the only viable solution to curbing stray dog and cat populations.
Yours,
*****
2. Email your Embassy in Bosnia-Herzegovina, asking them to work with the Bosnian authorities to ensure that the animal welfare laws of the country are enforced, that the citizens are educated in studies showing there is a direct link between animal cruelty and cruelty to humans, and that the most effective means of stray animal population control is through consistently applied sterilisation programs. To find your embassy, go here: http://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-in/bosnia-and-herzegovina
3. Contact any international animal welfare organisations you know, asking them to send letters as per the instructions above.
4. In order to investigate these contraventions of the Animal Welfare Law, activists need support. If you can assist in funding legal investigations please donate as per the instructions below via Paypal to donations@awabosnia.org, but make sure to mark your donation as ‘VAKUF’. Or you can donate to the YouCaring set up for Dalida Kozlic, animal activist and lawyer.
Funds are needed not only to help individual rescues but also to continue our advocacy work in Bosnia Herzegovina, 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 . 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.
______________________________________________
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.
Almost a year to the day, another mass killing of dogs by hunters. These dogs, some of them very young, lived at the landfill site, Perna, in the Bosanska Krupa (northwestern) region of BiH.
Today, animal rescuer and activist Amra Dervisevic went to Perna to pick up a dog named Medo, she had found him a home. Instead she found the dead bodies of about 50 dogs, most of the bodies buried and hidden under piles of trash. She could not find Medo, but no doubt he was killed with the other dogs.
Amra Dervisevic states that the hunting club L.D. “Grmec” Bosanska Krupa is responsible for the killings, and that the ‘event’ was coordinated by J.K.P.”Cistoca” (communal public company responsible for garbage disposal in Cazin Municipality). This company catches stray dogs in town and dumps them at the landfill in Perna, and then hunters come and kill the dogs.
Amra writes: “I went to find Medo today (he found an adopter) but I didn’t find him, I didn’t find anyone. They were all killed, every single one of them, and then covered in piles of trash. More than 50 poor souls… Who else could’ve done than the hunters, H.S “Grmec”. Bosanska Krupa has done the same thing again, despite of all the charges and poaching, and not obeying the Law protecting the animals, and the hunting law. And J.K.P “Cistoca” still takes, not only stray animals, but animals with owners who just happened to run away. The communal police should do an inspection of the landfill site – they would find numerous irregularities, but it’s far more important to worry about what I’m doing. BiH mayors are first in all segments when it comes to entering the EU, and yet they’re breaking the laws all together. Is there a law for these criminals? Is there a good lawyer to fight them? I know they’ll see this. They have no idea in how much pain I’m right now, and these poor souls that never harmed anyone. RIP my angels.”
In order to investigate these contraventions of the Animal Welfare Law, activists need support to hire lawyers.If you can assist in funding legal investigations please donate as per the instructions below via Paypal to donations@awabosnia.org, but make sure to mark your donation as ‘legal costs for Perna killings’.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina torture and killing animals is a common occurrence. In adults the offence is punishable by fine or imprisonment, however the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators of such crimes very rarely occur, but the activists will not cease from attempting to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Please send emails to the officials involved in the area, letting them know you are aware of what is happening and that it contravenes the laws of the country:
JKP Čistoća d.o.o. Cazin
Public Utility Company info@cistoca.ba
Funds are needed not only to help individual rescues but also to continue our advocacy work in Bosnia Herzegovina, 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 . 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.
______________________________________________
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.
By Dalida Kozlic
Citizens of Bosanska Krupa were shocked by the incidents in their town, especially after a badly injured dog, which had somehow managed to escape killers, was found in the centre of the town. The dog has a very critical fracture of the jaw and many injuries on his body. The fracture is serious because the jaw is completely separated from the rest of the skull, but the veterinarian has decided to try to save this horrifically injured dog. External fixators were applied in order to stabilize bone and soft tissues at a distance from the operative or injury focus.
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.
The communal police should do an inspection of the landfill site – they would find numerous irregularities, but it’s far more important to worry about what I’m doing. BiH mayors are first in all segments when it comes to entering the EU, and yet they’re breaking the laws all together. Is there a law for these criminals? Is there a good lawyer to fight them? I know they’ll see this. They have no idea in how much pain I’m right now, and these poor souls that never harmed anyone. RIP my angels.”
IN MEMORY OF VUČKO 
