The residents of Gornji Vraneš near Bijelo Polje have requested an urgent response from the Ministry of Agriculture regarding the long-standing and increasingly serious problem of uncontrolled movement of large livestock without supervision.
The government recently launched an institutional solution to the problem of abandoned and stray livestock, and municipalities will have three months to build a shelter for abandoned and stray animals, or sign contracts for their care with other municipalities, companies or citizens - otherwise they will pay fines.
Municipalities will capture the animals and notify the state, while owners will have to take them from shelters and pay a fine, the cost of capturing them and housing them.
The residents of Gornji Vraneš point out that they are powerless to solve the problem on their own with the unscrupulous owner of large cattle, who roam the streets, yards, and agricultural properties day and night, destroying everything in their path.
"This situation, on a daily basis, for the past ten years during the autumn and winter, has caused significant material damage to numerous households, the destruction of neatly maintained yards and properties, and - most alarmingly - directly threatens the safety of the population. Livestock that move freely, apparently without enough food and adequate housing, are becoming increasingly irritable and aggressive. This not only endangers people, but is also a blatant example of neglect and torture of animals," the locals state in an open letter.
Despite numerous reports to the police and municipal police, the competent services previously announced that they did not have the legal capacity to intervene effectively.
"Such an institutional vacuum further encourages the herd owner, who openly mocks citizens' reports and continues with the same practice, without any consequences. Of particular concern is the fact that the Ministry of Agriculture and its departments are turning a deaf ear to this long-standing problem, while at the same time preparing and awarding subsidies to the owner, regardless of the obvious violation of basic animal welfare standards and endangering public safety," the locals point out in the letter.
Due to all of the above, and referring to applicable laws and regulations, we demand:
- Urgent deployment of competent veterinary and inspection services to the field, in accordance with the Veterinary Law and the Animal Welfare Law, which stipulate the obligation of the owner to provide supervision, nutrition, housing and protection of animals from suffering;
- Undertaking legally prescribed measures against the owner of the livestock, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Public Order and the Law on Communal Activities, because uncontrolled movement of livestock threatens the safety of people and property;
- Preventing further free movement of livestock, in accordance with regulations on keeping domestic animals on the territory of the local self-government unit;
- Providing adequate food, water and accommodation for animals, as prescribed by laws and by-laws in the field of animal protection;
- Suspension of all subsidies and incentives from the agricultural budget, in accordance with the rules on the allocation of incentives, until the legality of the actions is determined and the minimum animal welfare requirements are met;
- Clearly defining the responsibilities of competent institutions, in accordance with the Law on Local Self-Government, in order to prevent the transfer of jurisdiction and the continuation of the problem.
"We expect an urgent and concrete response, before there are serious consequences for human or animal health. We consider the silence and inaction of those responsible to be complicit in this problem," the residents of Gornji Vraneš state in an open letter to the Ministry of Agriculture.
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