We speak as one of the largest dog wellbeing organizations in the world, with the support of numerous citizens of Republika Srpska and the entire country who come to us disgusted and concerned by the invitation of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of Republika Srpska, dr. Sava Minić, to use brutal, unethical methods of "removing" dogs that live abandoned and that have uncontrollably reproduced precisely because of the irresponsibility of people.
We hereby invite the highest levels of the Assembly and all competent institutions of Republika Srpska to urgently respond and address this issue.
The use of public space at the Assembly as a legislative body tasked with ensuring the consistent implementation of the laws of this entity and BiH is unacceptable and represents the basis for a serious warning, including penalties.
Although there are hunters who, due to unregistered and unplanned breeding, are actually the cause of the problem, because they often leave unwanted litters and dogs that do not meet their "criteria", we are sure that Minister Minić does not represent the population of hunters guided by ethical principles and respect for the law, and we also invite them to give their response.
The monstrous way of "removing" that this minister calls "harmless" and proposes using the status given to him by the vote of citizens, in the public eye, including young people and children, is not only illegal and regressive, but also completely inefficient and poses a serious threat to civilized society, as well as a security risk to people themselves.
Furthermore, the implementation of such measures would entail both illegal and futile spending of the public budget, whose real owners are actually citizens who elect their representatives in the government, for the methods that are completely unsustainable in addition to all of the above.
For 13 years, Dogs Trust Foundation has been investing huge funds and capacities in supporting an efficient, humane, sustainable and durable Dog Population Management System, in BiH, including most of Republika Srpska, thus helping the competent local administrations to provide a permanent and sustainable solution through action on both the consequences and the cause itself, while saving from the budget and in an efficient manner. This includes the financing of mass neutering campaigns of stray dogs with mandatory anti-rabic protection of stray dogs, which is part of the reason that the prevalence of this serious infection is almost eradicated from the territory of BiH.
Our cooperation with the local authorities of this entity, veterinary organizations including the Veterinary Chamber of Republika Srpska, and the entire community, has so far produced excellent results and has shown that a humane, systemic approach in accordance with the laws is the only efficient way to a lasting solution.
That is why we once again publicly call on the competent authorities and institutions of Republika Srpska to give their position as soon as possible and transparently inform the public about what they intend to do about this issue, which concerns not only animals, but the entire society that strives for a progressive and civilized lifestyle, without violence as the greatest enemy of progress.
