A seven-month-old brown bear cub was left in a transporter by an unknown person at the gate of the property where the Animal Shelter is located in the village of Blizna, near Podgorica, at the end of July.
This is what the owner stated in the notification about the event to the Directorate for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs (UBHVFP) Miljan Milickovic.
The Administration told "Vijesta" that, according to the notification they received from Milickovic, it is assumed that the animal was kept as a pet. They said that they informed the Environmental Protection Agency, the police and the Hunting Directorate about everything.
In the Environmental Protection Agency of Montenegro, EPA, as stated in the initiative sent to the inspection, which "Vijesti" had access to, they believe that the cub was "obtained illegally", that the bear "does not can ... remain with a person who does not meet the conditions, does not possess permits ... and knowledge to take adequate care of that animal".
Milicković did not answer the questions of "Vijesti" regarding the bear cub.
On August 2nd, the organization "Animal Survival International" published on its website (animalsurvival.org) a photo and information that a new specimen of this animal is located on the property of Miličković in the village of Blizna, where the six-year-old brown bear Ljubo is located. As they say, they discovered that the day before.
"And we are urgently negotiating with local and international authorities to immediately remove the cub from the illegal zoo," they state, among other things.
From the Veterinary Administration, of which he is the head Vladimir Djakovic they did not specify when the owner of the property informed them about the cub, but they told the newsroom that they received a notification from the non-governmental organization "Animal Shelter and Recovery", of which Miličković is the founder, "that on the night between July 30 and 31 at the entrance gate of the shelter , on a public surface, a wooden improvised transporter with a brown bear cub with an estimated age of seven months was found".
"According to the notification, the cub was found in good physical condition, with no visible signs of damage to its physical integrity, assuming that the animal was kept as a pet. Immediately after receiving the notification, we sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Directorate for Hunting - Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management and the Ministry of Internal Affairs - Police Directorate, for further jurisdiction and action", they told "Vijesti" from the Directorate.
According to unofficial information, Milicković addressed the Administration on July 31, and the Administration addressed the Agency seven days later.
The Agency initiated inspection supervision at the Directorate for Inspection Affairs (UIP). According to the letter that "Vijesti" had access to, among other things, it is stated that they had previously addressed the inspection with a request to go out into the field and take away a wild animal - a brown bear cub that is in the possession of Miljan Miličković in the village of Blizne in Podgorica.
According to the Law on Nature Protection, "specimens of wild animal species that are kept in captivity without a permit and contrary to the conditions given in the permit for keeping in captivity are temporarily or permanently confiscated and handed over to a legal entity or a natural person authorized by the administrative authority." According to the law, authorization is issued to legal and physical persons who meet the requirements regarding space, equipment and personnel.
According to the same Law, a found wild animal can be handed over to the nearest hunting society for its return to nature or to the nearest zoo equipped to accommodate it.
"If a protected species of wild animal is found, the authority responsible for nature protection is notified. The Law on Game and Hunting of Montenegro strictly prohibits the killing of a bear with cubs up to two years of age, as a result of which we believe that in this particular case it is a protected species of wild animal, and the role of the Agency in making a decision on the placement of bear cubs is also confirmed through that regulation", the memo states.
The Agency adds that "in Montenegro, hunting societies do not have the capacity to keep bear cubs", and that "there is not even an adequate zoo". They also state that the place where the bear is currently housed "is not a zoo, it does not have a permit to operate."
"And the procedure for revoking the permit for keeping a large number of animals is underway, considering that during his many years of work, Miljan Miličković has not shown his willingness to act in accordance with the law, as well as that he does not have the capacity to take adequate care of animals." , writes in the inspection initiative.
According to unofficial information, the agency has found accommodation for a brown bear cub.
"Given that, according to the Agency's opinion, the bear cub that was found on Milicković's property was obtained illegally, we have contacted national and international legal entities, with the aim of providing adequate care for this cub. The Agency is the only one competent to determine the legal entity to which the animal can be temporarily transferred for safekeeping", it says, among other things, in the Agency's letter to the inspection.
Fourteen animals, including an Asian two-humped camel, an Australian emu, and an African ostrich, died in the Milickovic shelter during December of last year, in the space of 12 hours. As the UBHVFP said at the time, he informed the authorities about it only after almost a month. The animals were buried and disposed of harmlessly within the estate, but the cause of death is still unknown.
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