dogs and cats being shot in the streets of Serbia

[Ljubica]

Important-dogs and cats being shot in the streets of Serbia by police

Posted by: "South West Animal Protection" southwestani...@yahoo.co.uk   southwestanimalprotection

Thu Aug 21, 2008 1:47 pm (PDT)

PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY NATIONALLY & INTERNATIONALLY

INTERNATIONAL APPEAL
Dogs and cats being shot in the streets by policemen and cats being clubbed
to death with mallets.

Please read the important appeal below and take action now to help the
apallingly abused animals in Serbia who desperately need your voice. Please
take out the semi- colons between each email addy as you send them.
Many thanks
SWAP team UK

----- Original Message -----
From: MARK JOHNSON
To: southwestanimalprotection@yahoo.co.uk
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2008 4:01 PM
Subject: Important

Please e mail the two Serbian contacts (in Red) at the very end of this
message to express your disgust at dogs and cats being shot in the streets
by policemen and cats being clubbed to death with mallets.

Copy to all MEPs also, as per 'cc' block below.

Is this the way of animal 'welfare' when the EU politicians allow Serbia to
become members?

MEPs need to know your views now, before the elections which will remove or
put them back into the parliament during 2009.

----- Original Message -----
From: MARK JOHNSON
To: kabinet@minpolj.sr.gov.yu
Cc: micovicz@minpolj.sr.gov.yu ; neilparishmep@btinternet.com;
neil.parish@europarl.europa.eu; roger.helmer@europarl.europa.eu ;
bill.newtondunn@europarl.europa.eu ; glenis.willmott@europarl.europa.eu ;
andrew.duff@europarl.europa.eu ; richard.howitt@europarl.europa.eu ;
rwsturdy@btconnect.com ; eastern@ukip.org ; thomas.wise@europarl.europa.eu ;
john.bowis@europarl.europa.eu ; robert.evans@europarl.europa.eu ;
mary.honeyball@europarl.europa.eu ; skamall@europarl.eu.int ;
jean.lambert@europarl.europa.eu ; sarah.ludford@europarl.europa.eu ;
claude.moraes@europarl.europa.eu ; charles.tannock@europarl.europa.eu ;
fiona.hall@europarl.europa.eu ; stephen-hughes@btconnect.com ;
ratsmep@sir-robertatkins.org ; chrisdaviesmep@cix.co.uk ;
den.dover@europarl.europa.eu ; sajjad.karim@europarl.europa.eu ;
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2008 3:52 PM
Subject: Important

Mr. Dragin and Mr. Micovic;

We have been informed today that hunters and policemen in Racha; a village
in the municipality of Kragujevac, Serbia, are shooting both dogs and cats
on the streets of Racha, and foxes in the surrounding areas of the village,
in some alleged attempt to stop and eradicate rabies in the area.

We understand that some eight (8) cats have been killed by the use of a
mallet.

This is not acceptable, and does not in any way conform with Serbian animal
welfare legislation. Therefore we consider that you are both responsible
directly for what is happening in Racha. Information on this situation will
now be sent to the EU Intergroup for Animal Welfare, as well as to every MEP
within the union, informing them that Serbia is not enforcing existing
national animal welfare legislation, and that both of you are failing in
your positions of responsibility (Minister of Agriculture and Director of
Veterinary Department of Serbia) to stop these killings and taking proper
actions to restrict the spread of rabies, if it even exists. We consider
your actions are yet another attempt to find excuses which allow the mass
destruction of animals in Serbia, and yet whenever it takes place, always
fails to reduce animal numbers in the long term. You have been told that
the only way to reduce stray and roaming animal numbers is to adopt and
undertake a no kill sterilisation program throughout serbia; which would be
cost effective and produce a reduction in animal numbers, something which
you 'experts' have never been able to do with your current policies.

Legal action is being considered.

You should be aware, especially in the positions you hold, that the mass
killing of animals as a means of rabies control usually leads to the
redistribution of the surviving animals into the then newly vacant
territories, thus actually increasing the rabies risk through increased
movement. Also, a sudden reduction in animals in one particular area
through mass killing may allow greater access to resources for the remaining
animals, resulting in them quickly being allowed to replace the culled
animals. As stated, you SHOULD be aware, but obviously you are not; killing
being your one and only solution to all animal problems.

Your failure to take responsibility and to enforce existing Serbian animal
welfare legislation is now being provided to global animal welfare
organisations with the request that all their supporters contact you both
and for EU citizens, their MEPs, to express their disgust at your stray
animal management failures. The EU will be asked to consider your failures
as part of the system which will grant EU accession to Serbia; with the
request that until this kind of action is halted, Serbia should remain a
non-EU member.

You have both failed to take responsibility and act as you should. Now we
have to move on to consider legal actions.

Stop the killings in Racha.

Serbian Animals Voice

TO:
Mr.Sasha Dragin- Minister of Agriculture kabinet@minpolj.sr.gov.yu
Mr.Zoran Micovic -Director of Veterinary Department of Serbia
micovicz@minpolj.sr.gov.yu