love is an animal: STOP THE KILLING LAW IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

BOSNIA IS ABOUT TO IMPLEMENT A KILL LAW THAT REPLICATES WHAT IS HAPPENING IN ROMANIA.

TO STOP THIS LAW COMING INTO EFFECT THE NEXT TWO WEEKS ARE CRITICAL!

On Thursday the 3rd of October the Bosnia-Herzegovina Parliament held a debate on whether or not to change the existing animal welfare law to allow 'euthanasia' of dogs held in shelters for more than 14 days without adoption.

Those opposing the change in the debate (local representatives from Dogs Trust, various pro-animal NGOs, ordinary citizens, veterinary experts from the Veterinary Faculty, professors, lawyers) took more room and were in all ways more articulate

However, the government representatives and in particular SDP representative Nermina Zaimović Uzunović (who originally presented the Bill with changes to the Animal Welfare Act) behaved as if they heard none of these facts, explanations of the cause of the problem and how to remedy the problem.

It will be hard to keep the law as it is. THE NEXT 2 WEEKS ARE CRITICAL.

SIGN THESE PETITIONS!

SAMPLE LETTER TO SEND

FIND THE BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA EMBASSY IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY:
http://embassy-finder.com/bosnia-and-herzegovina_embassies

FIND YOUR EMBASSY IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA:

http://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-in/bosnia-and-herzegovina

Appeal for Bosnia and Hercegovina

Millions of people around the globe deeply care about animal welfare and are sad to see constant reports of horrific animal cruelty in BiH. In the next two weeks BiH is about to vote on the existing Animal Protection and Welfare Act. I am writing to ask you NOT TO CHANGE THIS LAW, but rather that it is actually enforced.
Proposed changes to the Animal Protection and Welfare Act are to make euthanasia legal in all shelters. Euthanasia would be performed within 15 days from a stray dog’s arrival in a shelter.
Killing is never the answer! Especially to kill dogs in brutal methods, which are often used in shelters in Bosnia and Herzegovina: clubbing, injections of bleach, starvation, burning, buried alive.
The existing Animal Welfare and Protection Act is in fact a good and enforceable law.
It states that every city and town has to build shelters for stray animals. All shelters for stray animals have to provide a NO KILL policy and adequate care, including veterinary care for the animals. Unfortunately, the conditions in most public shelters are horrific, with dogs left for days without water, food or care.
Studies have shown that TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) program is more effective (and humane) than euthanasia.
In addition, to change the law will mean extraordinary wastage of funds and time involved in previous spay-neuter programs of strays, most notably that of Dogs Trust, who sterilised 3000 dogs this June, 2013.
At a Parliament debate on the 3 October, SDP representative Nermina Zaimovic-Uzunovic, who originally proposed the amendments to the law, said that she was disappointed because the discussion focused on Dogs Trust and their project which was financed by “the Queen” – and that Dogs Trust only worked in their own interest and this interest was financed by the “Queen”. Instead of acknowledging the good work done by Dogs Trust, she dismisses it, and certainly does not acknowledge that if her changes come into effect, the 3000 dogs sterilized by Dogs Trust will probably be killed.
It's important to note that deliberate animal abuse is rife in Bosnia, and many international animal welfare organizations cite Bosnia as the country with the most instances of horrific animal cruelty and suffering. There is the famous case when two men put firework into German Shepherd’s mouth and duct-taped his jaws shut, setting the rocket alight. The firework caused horrific injuries to the dog’s face, but did not kill him. He wandered about for five days, and in the end the dog had to be euthanized. Nearly 200,000 people signed these petitions asking the Bosnia and Herzegovina authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice, but nothing was done.
There is clear evidence now that people who take pleasure in harming animals are also a potential danger to other people, especially children.
Any change to the Animal Protection and Welfare Act allowing 'euthanisation' of healthy dogs in shelters will certainly send a message that killing dogs and cats is acceptable in all circumstances.
The issue of the proposed changes to the law must be addressed in the coming days. I hope that the European Commission and the Parliament will discuss this matter with their Bosnia and Herzegovina counterparts.
The European Parliament states “EU has among the world’s highest standards of animal welfare”. The Eurogroup for Animal Welfare is strongly urging the European Commission to adopt adequate measures to ensure that all pet animals are properly treated to protect their health and welfare. If Bosnia and Herzegovina’s wish to join EU, must takes crimes against defenseless animals seriously.
I urge you to implement principles on humane stray dog population control and NOT TO CHANGE THE LAW, but rather that it is actually enforced.
Kind regards