Guest guest Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 http://www.bestfriends.org/allthegoodnews/magazine/bfmjul05pdf.pdf A Brutality that Must Stop During the war in Bosnia in the 1990s, each side accused the other of “acting like animals.” Sure, the barbarity factor was horrific .But people weren’t acting like animals. More accurately, they were behaving like humans. The war in the Balkans has been over for a decade. Most of the violence between ethnic groups has stopped. But now it seems to be turning on other species – especially homeless pets. Alarming reports have been filtering in from citizens and tourists alike who have been witnessing the brutal massacre of dogs and cats around the country. Even obviously well-cared-for pets who venture onto the streets have been at the mercy of the extermination campaign. In large cities like Belgrade, there have been mass poisonings. In other towns, like the winter tourist resort of Zlatibor, the mayor issues hunting permits that allow people to shoot dogs on sight – often right in front of vacationing tourists and children. (And before anyone writes off Serbians as totally uncivilized “and quite different from us,” bear in mind that a similar proposal to shoot feral cats on sight was on its way to become law in Wisconsin until the governor stepped in to rule it out of bounds, and two states actually have similar laws on their books.) Brave souls in Serbia who try to step in and save animals that they see being hunted have found themselves facing retribution themselves. There have even been reports of private humane groups participating in the destruction. Serbia faces a very real problem of stray animals. During the war, when pets weren’t allowed into human shelters, some 20,000 were pushed onto the streets. And the population kept growing from there. There are few animal protection laws on the books, and those that do exist are routinely ignored. Still, hope is on the horizon. As reports filter out to the larger world, international attention is increasingly being turned on Serbia. Former screen siren and longtime animal activist Brigitte Bardot has appealed to Serbian President Boris Tadic to stop what she described as the “brutal cleansing” of stray animals. And her Brigitte Bardot Foundation, working with another group, Respectons, has created a new shelter for dogs. The plan is for them to be spayed or neutered and to receive veterinary care before being set free in a refuge managed by a local association, Oaza. Operating in Belgrade, the group is taking in animals that are being rounded up by the municipal government and saving them from being killed. As with many start-up rescue efforts, it’s a small step – but a lucky one for the animals who make their way there. Write to the Serbian authorities asking that the brutal treatment and extermination of animals be stopped. E-mails can be sent to Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica at Office of Prime Minister VOJISLAV KOSTUNICA predsednikvladesrbije; to the Minister of Agriculture at office.yu ; to the Minister of Science & the Environment at info.yu ; and to the Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro in Washington, D.C. at ambassador. A barefoot man carries a dog during a flood at the village of Jasa Tomic, near Belgrade, Serbia, in April AP Photo / Srdjan Ilic ALSO Please write a letter of protest to the Serbian Embassy in your county SERBIAN EMBASSIES WORLDWIDE Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro UK London Ambassador - Dr Dragi¹a Burzan londre Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro USA –Washington DC Ambassador - Dr Ivan Vujacic ambassador Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro Canada diplomat Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro Belgium ambayougoslavie Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro France ambasadapariz Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro Spain madrid Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro Germany botschjugo Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro Australia & New Zealand yuembau Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro Israel yuamb Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro Netherlands yuambanl Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro Sweden yuemb.telecom Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro Argentina yuembaires Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro Austria ambasada Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro Croatia ambasada-sav-rep-jugoslavije Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro Denmark yuembdk Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro Brazil embiugos Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro Finland yuambafin Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro Italy amb.jug Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro Poland YUABAPL, ambfrj Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro Portugal yuemba Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro Switzerland info Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro South Africa yuembpta Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro India zvezda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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