WARNING! VERY GRAPHIC CONTENT
Dalida Kozlic L.L.B, lawyer and activist writes:
Increasing hatred towards stray animals in Bosnia and Herzegovina can be shown by the latest cases of vicious torturing and killing of stray animals. Rescuers and animal advocates in different towns and cities of the country are facing an endemic of cruelty towards animals that is getting worse.
Sometimes the most dreadful crimes happen in ordinary places, and it seems that it is becoming a practice in Bosnia. Rescuers in the capital city Sarajevo are right now trying to deal with a brutal and horrific situation. In the past few days, many dogs have been poisoned by an unknown person or persons, mainly in a notorious part of Novi Grad municipality, Dobrinja.
Poisoned dogs are being found in isolated areas as well as on the streets of Dobrinja and other parts of Sarajevo. Traces of poison for mice and snails have been found on the streets and this implies that this is a well prepared and organised criminal offence that is probably committed by a group of people. The poison is highly toxic and animals die within few hours, while veterinarians are trying to find a solution to help animals that are in agony.
Most of the poisoned stray dogs have died, as have a few pets that ate poison hidden in meat. Also, rescuers have found bodies of poisoned cats which is unusual given that cats are cautious animals. They have probably eaten poisoned meat.
The latest case happened in Sarajevo area called Aneks, where one dog was poisoned this morning.
Citizens as well as rescuers are very upset, particularly because the police and the inspection are still silent.
Please see the news report on Radio Sarajevo “Dobrinja / Građani uznemireni: Brojni ulični psi otrovani u Sarajevo” (“Citizens upset: Many street dogs poisoned in Sarajevo”)
Unfortunately, the cruelty of people doesn’t end in Sarajevo.
Hunters in the municipality of Kneževo near Banja Luka killed dozens of stray dogs as well as pets a few days ago. Bodies of shot, abused and killed dogs were found in the forests near Kneževo four days ago. Wounds from gunshot could be seen on the corpses.
Hunters are notorious and illegal executors of stray animals in Bosnia, and this blog has documented a number of killings of dogs by hunters.
Many hunting organisations ignore the law and still kill stray dogs in villages as well as rural areas in Bosnia even when those dogs are not causing harm to wild animals, and despite the fact that hunters are criminally responsible for such actions.
News article on Prnjavorski.net: “Lovci pobili pse lutalice” (“Hunters kill stray dogs”)
And, rescuers are once more facing an awful new case of torturing of animals in Zenica.
One of the most brutal cases of killing of an animal that I have ever seen as a lawyer and a rescuer has happened in this town. Rescuers of SAPA Zenica found the body of a stray dog few days ago. The brutality of this crime is appalling. The dog was beaten and all her paws were cut off.
Such brutality is extremely worrying and it is devastating to see what someone can do to an animal that cannot defend herself.
I am not good at expressing emotions but as I am writing a new post for this blog I feel that I must express how I feel about these recent atrocities in Bosnia. I believe that every rescuer not only in Bosnia feels the same.
When I was a child, there was a war here in Bosnia. All of us learnt that death was something that could be seen every minute of our lives. I remember how my parents were taking animals to the basement of the house where they placed during the war. After the war, we hoped that it would be better for people as well as for animals. We were wrong.
Why am I mentioning the war? It was a period when everyone including me “met” death for the first time, but it wasn’t an “ordinary” death, it was a death that was a consequence of horrific and cruel events and torture. Some people say that Bosnia is a cursed country, that the land is full of blood and the cruel character of Balkan people will never change.
This sounds like a horror movie, but despite this I am afraid that it is a true. I am the person who only talks about facts, and the fact is that I am writing an article about three cases on unimaginable torture of stray animals in Bosnia. I am writing about animals that are victims of vicious persons, psychopaths with a cruel character in the country where killing someone “is a normal” and where no one pays attention to the suffering of those who can’t defend themselves.
A friend of mine, who was in army during the war, has told me: “You can’t face death almost every day and expect to be the same person as you used to be once.”
He is right.
Rescuers face death almost every day. We face the most notorious consequences of cruel minds and we face suffering every day. The worst thing is that we live in the country where decades are needed to change this situation. We aren’t the same persons as we used to be. We talk and think about the horrors and atrocities and we bear our responsibility to help so many animals. They only have us and no one else. Authorities who ought to protect them, actually kill them and chase us. We live in the country where logic “ends”, but still we don’t give up. We mustn’t give up.
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To show your support for the rescuers, please go to:
Animal Welfare Advocates for Bosnia Facebook Group
Animal Welfare Advocates for Bosnia Facebook Page
Dalida Kozlic’s Facebook Group
SAPA Zenica’s Facebook Page
Edina Pasic’s Facebook Page
Caki Bravo’s Facebook Group
Saving Prnjavor Dogs Facebook Group
RELATED POSTS:
Mass poisoning of stray dogs in Zenica, Bosnia
Poisoning of dogs ordered in Donji Vakuf, Bosnia
Monstrous Killing and Injuring of Stray Dogs in Zenica, Bosnia!
Dogs found slaughtered outside Shelter in Sarajevo
Puppy Flung off Bridge in Sarajevo, Bosnia
Puppy dies after horrific attack in Bosnia Herzegovina
Loved Street Dog Hanged in Gradiska, Bosnia!
Boy steals puppy and hangs it – Prnjavor, Bosnia Herzegovina
Dog’s Skull Deliberately Crushed in Bosnia Herzegovina
Another Dog Tortured by Wire in Bosnia
DOG TORTURED WITH WIRE IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA!
Puppy burned alive in Bosnia Herzegovina!
Dog Beheaded in Bosnia
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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.
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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.
Dalida Kozlic L.L.B
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.
SAPA Zenica are joined by people in the city who feed and love stray animals in their attempts to find out more regarding the possible offender(s) as well to save poisoned dogs who are still surviving.
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 to catch and transport stray animals to veterinary stations and shelters.
For Malena it was too late, R.I.P.
I am writing this with a heavy heart and tears. I am writing because I have to write it and because I have to find the strength for all those ones whose voice we are for many years, for those who expect us to stand up and never give up no matter how hard and painful it is, for those whom we must protect, for all those abandoned animals, who were deprived of love, and care and home and who live their lives on the street, being tortured, murdered, caught and poisoned.
We reported the case to the Police, the Prosecutors office, Cantonal Vet Inspection, and we will issue a press release. We wrote on local FB pages and alerted all people to watch and check the status of dogs and their health and we distributed telephone numbers of the vets. Threats of poisoning were received some time ago, anonymous threats, that dogs in the neighbourhood would be poisoned, there are indications what group of people would do this and we shared this with police. For years we live in fear, panic, and discomfort, surrounded by people who hate animals, dogs in particular, people who fail to understand the root of the problem, but we endured somehow. We live surrounded by everyday threats and insults and everyday the hurting of our animals. But we always knew we had to endure for them for those we fight for.
In the album I attach there are photos of nearly all of those who were murdered and died, some are missing. And some photos were taken while they were still alive. As I write this I received new information about one more beloved dog poisoned, one more mascot of the neighbourhood, our sweet good Jaran… the vet is on the way.
I want to write about the dog called Zijo-Vucko, who was poisoned on 15 August, we never found him, he probably hid somewhere and died alone. Many children grew up with Zijo-vucko, as he was mascot of Babina rijeka in Zenica for many years, he was always smiling, never learned how to properly bark, was a playful teddy bear. His photos are with two kids, see he was always smiling.
More dogs died on Monday and Tuesday this week, another girl Zuta was lying dead in the bushes the whole day before we found her.
We still fight for life of Sreckica who is Sarajevo Clinic, and for lives of Bingo, Lily and Kiki who are on infusion and receiving vitamin K, C, antibiotics. They are fighting. There were all much loved dogs, friends of many families and their children. And now we start to fight for our Jaran.
We deal with an invisible enemy, everybody is silent, we will keep exerting pressure on the police and prosecutors office to run proper investigations, but it is hard without proper witnesses.
Please share this and help spread the word of the crime in Zenica, crime on innocent dogs, crimes of most monstrous killing by poisoning. Speak for us and share. Speak for the dogs in Zenica, dogs who for so many years were living on the streets. Evil people live amongst us, we must stop them and this evil. We have the courage to speak up, plse help us, help us in the name of Vucko, Zuta, Crno Bijeli, Blecky, Maza, bebi, Curica, Jedini, malena and all others.
IN MEMORY OF VUČKO 