On a private property in the village of Blizna, near Podgorica, known as the Animal Shelter and Recovery, there is a kangaroo, for which the owner Miljan Milickovic does not have any documentation. He allegedly got the kangaroo from a person from Beran, who does not have a permit to keep that animal species.
This is what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told "Vijesta". The Administration for Inspection Affairs (UIP), to the questions of "Vijesti", on January 12, said that the inquiry was forwarded to the environmental inspection. In the meantime, "Vijesti" was not answered about the kangaroo case in the village of Blizna. The Agency also informed the inspection about everything.
"Given that in the knowledge that Mr. Miljan Miličković keeps a kangaroo on his property in the village of Blizna-Piperi, the Environmental Protection Agency informed the competent authority, the Directorate for Inspection Affairs of Montenegro - Department for Environmental Inspection, so that it would, in accordance with legal regulations, come to the site and check whether allegations about keeping kangaroos founded. "The agency has not yet received the report on the aforementioned inspection conducted by the environmental inspection," EPA told "Vijesta"
They also added that the director of the Agency visited Milicković's property Milan Gazdić, EPA officials and a representative of the environmental inspection, when they determined that there was a kangaroo there.
"During the conversation with Mr. Milicković, we learned that he does not have certificates of origin, purchase or import of the specified species and we were informed that he received the specified species from a certain Maša Nikšić from Beran, which, as we have checked, does not have a permit from our Agency to keep the specified species", said the EPA.
When asked if Milicković approached the Agency and asked for a permit to keep kangaroos, they said that no one had ever asked for such a permit for that type of animal.
"Until today, no entity, legal entity or natural person has approached the Environmental Protection Agency with a request to issue a permit to keep the mentioned animal species," it says in the reply to "Vijesta".
They also add that at the end of last year, Milicković informed the Agency via e-mail that he owns a kangaroo on his property, and that the institution replied that he needed to submit an application for keeping that animal.
"Since October, when the inquiry was sent by e-mail, until today, the owner of the property has not contacted the Agency for the issuance of a holding permit. During Mr. Milicković's visit, we once again reminded him that he needs to obtain a permit to keep the above-mentioned species of kangaroo," said the EPA, reminding that according to the Nature Protection Act, the owner is obliged to notify the Agency within 30 days. on the possession of an animal without a permit.
According to information from the Shelter's Facebook page from October 17, a "spectacular opening of a new part of the park with new animal species" was organized on that day, and along with an offer for free photography with exotic animals, "meeting a kangaroo" was also announced.
The animal shelter and recovery center is located twenty kilometers from Podgorica. In the description of the Facebook page through which the work of the shelter is promoted, it is stated that it was founded as a non-governmental and non-profit organization, that it covers 12.000 square meters of meadows, forests and pastures, that it started working in October 2005, and that "with an expert team of veterinarians, researchers and animal lovers, successfully takes in and rehabilitates animals that are in distress, injured, without shelter, seized for smuggling or too young and weak to live independently".
"The task of this shelter is to return wild animals of autochthonous species to nature after recovery, and domestic animals after recovery and stabilization of health to homes in households where they are wanted and kept in a humane manner according to the regulations of our shelter. Confiscated protected species of animals or animals that are no longer capable of living independently in nature remain permanently on this property," the description of the page on Facebook reads.
Judging by photos from social networks, the shelter is open for visits and the animals are in constant contact with people.
The Agency told "Vijesta" that they never issued the owner Miljan Milicković a permit to open and operate the shelter.
"Given that he never asked the Agency for a permit for a shelter, but only for the keeping of certain animal species. In the Decision issued by this Agency, it is expressly underlined that animals are not exhibited to visitors or for commercial purposes, and we have information that all this was done", said the EPA.
They also add that they are aware that Milicković received a temporary permit from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management for adoption and the operation of the ZOO.
"We have not seen that permit, but if it exists, it could not have been issued without the prior opinion of this Agency. If it was issued, the Law on Nature Protection was violated, whereby the official and the issuing body committed a serious legal violation, which we will also inform the inspections, as soon as we come into possession of it," the EPA states.
At the end of July, the Directorate for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs awarded the NGO Animal Shelter and Recovery EUR 24.998 for the project "Improving the conditions for the protection of the welfare of wild and native animal species" at the competition for financing NGO projects in the area of animal welfare protection.
And exotic snakes without paper
The shelter in the village of Blizna has a permit to keep some animals, but the EPA said that they also registered animals for which they did not issue a permit and reminded that keeping certain species without a permit is subject to legal sanctions.
According to them, the EPA has given permission for five fallow deer, two mouflons, four ostriches, a wild cat, a raven, two cuckoo owls each, a humpback swan, a golden marten, red foxes, chinchillas, European red squirrels, yellow-eared turtles, and one parrot each. pennant, Berg's parrot, Alexander's parrot and gray jaco parrot, two raccoons, one Eurasian badger, four Siberian squirrels, two Canadian striped squirrels, five degu squirrels, two royal pheasants, three American red squirrels, a llama, four peacocks, two two-humped camels , eight emus, a brown bear, a wolf-dog mix and two red-eared South American tortoises.
"On the property, we recently registered exotic snakes and some other animals for which we did not issue permits," the Agency said, adding that Milicković could not even prove the origin of the animals, and that they expect a reaction from the ecological inspection.
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