We strongly condemn all brutality and inhumane behaviour towards animals, and specifically the case in Bužim, which was reported on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, by a local portal.
According to this report, in the settlement of Bužim, an unknown person got out of the car unprovoked and shot an innocent dog with a hunting rifle, after which the person left the scene without hesitation.
For our part, as an organization that has been supporting the humane and systematic management of the dog population in BiH for over 12 years, in the manner prescribed by the state Law on the Protection and Welfare of Animals, we call on the competent institutions and services to immediately investigate the case, identify and adequately sanction the perpetrator, and inform the public about it.
In addition, we call on local veterinary clinics to fulfil their obligation and, according to the Hippocratic Oath, which also applies to doctors of veterinary medicine, to help in emergency interventions and save the lives of animals in need.
Brutality towards animals is a deviant phenomenon that significantly endangers the entire society, and the use of firearms in the settlement is an additional criminal offense and a huge risk for the citizens themselves.
We remind that dogs that live abandoned are present on the streets solely because of the irresponsibility of people, not by their choice, and that the law explicitly prohibits any inhumane behaviour to animals for a reason.
The only effective and sustainable way to solve this problem, which is the responsibility of local authorities and institutions, is the consistent and systematic implementation of humane, legal measures such as mass neutering, vaccination and marking of abandoned dogs according to the catch-neuter-vaccinate-return method (at the place of stay), promotion of pet neutering, responsible acquisition and keeping of dogs, supervision by veterinary inspection over all dog owners, adoption, and education and awareness raising. Only in this way can the problem be gradually brought under control and in time, and with a good application of the legal and humane system completely solved.
The use of illegitimate and legally prohibited ad-hoc “solutions” such as unnecessary and illegal killing or injuring of dogs, mass shelters that quickly become unfit and inhumane for animals, and a financial nightmare for the budget, only deepen the problem and delay a truly lasting and humane solution that both the community and the dogs in it deserve.
