In Serbia they shoot dogs

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If the dog is man's best friend, why is man sometimes the dog's worst

enemy?

 

In Serbia they shoot dogs

 

This is a letter from one of our readers. We publish it here hoping that

the message will reach those to whom it is addressed. And everyone else

in Serbia who makes such decisions.

 

 

As usual, out of habit, I got out of bed and read the paper. The front

page of the daily shows an idyllic photograph of Mt Zlatibor, covered in

this year's first snow. I don't really believe that any reader could be

indifferent to this beautiful photograph, not be drawn to picture

himself, at least for a moment, sitting right on this mountain, in the

heaven of this winter resort, the " pride and honour of Serbia " .

 

I was lucky enough to have a chance to bring the scene captured by this

photograph to life, because I returned from Zlatibor last night, having

greeted the first snow of the year.

 

I graduated two weeks ago from the Economics Faculty of Belgrade

University. This is why my girlfriend and I decided to spend five days

in an apartment owned by my family on this mountain which has given me

so much pleasure and so many wonderful moments every day I have spent

there.

 

However, the unfortunate event I witnessed while I was there is

something that we will not and must not be indifferent to, and I will do

all in my power to see to it that it never happens again. This is why I

turned on my computer first thing this morning - to make an appeal,

because I believe that in these not-so-glorious times for our country,

when the are stories of murders all over the papers, you are sensitive

to what some people consider the less important things.

 

On my last day at Zlatibor, having woken up at 7.00 a.m., as I did every

day there, I was witness to a horrifying event, on Tuesday, November 5.

 

Along the river walk, near King Aleksandar's water fountain, I noticed

traces of blood. At first I thought that someone must have slipped and

injured themselves while getting water. But, following the trail of

blood, I noticed a dead dog a few metres away.

 

A few steps further on, in front of the local post office, I noticed

another dead dog. There was no blood, so I thought a car must have run

over it, although the centre of Zlatibor is a pedestrian only. But just

a few metres further on, at the small junction near the market, things

became much clearer: more dead dogs. I remembered that I had seen a

young guy with a hunting rifle over his shoulder near the cafes.

 

Then, on the street leading to the Jugopetrol rest house, I saw a car

pull up and a hunter with a rifle getting out of it. He was chasing a

dog the size of a large cat which was bounding around a family coming

down the hill. I ran to protect the dog from certain death. It put its

tail between its legs and hid behind the legs of the family, looking for

protection. Having managed to get to the dog before this wicked man's

bullet, I asked him " Are you out of your mind? How would you feel if

someone was chasing you with a gun trying to kill you? Who gave you the

right to do this? " :

 

His insolent reply was " Is that your dog? Better take it home with you

if you have any sympathy for it! "

 

I took the dog in my arms and headed for my apartment. I heard a

question in English. The people this little dog had been following were

foreigners. The man looked at me, puzzled and somewhat frightened, and

asked:

 

" What did he actually want to do? "

 

" To kill this dog! " I replied.

 

" Why? It followed us all the way from the hotel. It's really sweet! "

 

He asked a few more questions, like whether the hunters had a permit and

did the municipality authorise them to do this, before finishing, " Well,

yes, there's no Brigitte Bardot here! "

 

This whole unpleasant incident took place before the eyes of the

horrified locals and children, obviously frightened by it, and tourists.

Shop assistants in the nearby kiosks, vendors from the market, children

and foreigners cheered the few of us who were trying to protect a number

of small dogs, carrying them in our arms as far away from the centre as

possible.

 

Later I asked at the local police station and other local authorities

and learnt that these slaughters are organised by hunters' associations,

mainly the Zlatibor Hunter's Association. The head of this organisation

is Dobrosav Buciæ and the permits are issued by Cajetina Mayor Radovan

Jojiæ. This happens twice a year.

 

I would like to ask a few simple questions:

 

Is there a law that allows civilians to carry and use firearms in the

centre of an inhabited place?

 

Is it possible that someone issues permits (we didn't actually see any)

and allows the use of firearms in the middle of a winter tourist resort,

right before the eyes of residents, guests, small children and

foreigners, as though this were hunting season in some game reserve, and

not an urban environment, in fact a town centre on a mountaint which

should be the pride and honour of this country's tourist resorts.

 

Are we a country which is attempting to integrate into developed and

civilised Europe? Is this how we demonstrate our civilised behaviour?

Do we want the world to know us only by wars and evil, and do we want

the few tourists who come here to go home from their summer and winter

holidays with tales of savagery?

 

Dogs are being killed in large numbers in the very centre of Zlatibor, a

resort which attrracts large numbers of people. The problem of stray

dogs does need to be solved, but not in this monstrous and barbaric

manner.