Waiting for a piece of bread

Serbia is one of the last countries in Europe that adopted the Animal Welfare Law, in June 2009. According to the Serbian Animal Welfare Law, the local authorities are under obligation to carry out a strategy for resolving the problem of stray animals (Article 54). Since the adoption, the Law has not been implemented, and local regulations were not harmonised with it.

Citizens and the authorities are not educated in humane animal issues and furthermore most of them do not care. The improvement of animal welfare is not the priority of Serbian government officials. The police and the veterinary inspection are not interested in animal protection!

The streets of Serbia are inundated with abandoned dogs and cats. We witness brutal scenes of animal abuse almost every day: stray dogs and cats are poisoned, burned, cut, slaughtered, shot, beaten by individuals who are not punished for their crimes against animals (since January 2006 the abuse and the killing are forbidden by Serbian Criminal Law, Article 269).

Stray dogs and cats are brutally abused and killed by citizens and zoo hygiene services.