The owner of the shelter for animals in the village of Blizna, Miljan Miličković, reacted to the article "The bear has disappeared from Piper", published on the "Vijesti" portal on December 9.
We publish Milicković's speech in its entirety:
"The Đuro bear, referred to in the disputed text, is an animal that was entrusted to my care by the Hunting and Forestry Inspection.
During the 13 months that the animal stayed with me, I covered all the costs of his food, accommodation and veterinary care. Veterinarians who performed the examination found the bear to be in an extremely good state of health.
In accordance with the Law on Nature Protection, I submitted a request to keep the Đura bear, whereby I provided accommodation that is ten times greater than the conditions provided for in the Rulebook on Closer Conditions for Keeping and Breeding Protected Wild Animal Species.
Although the Environmental Protection Agency was obliged to go to the field and check the conditions in which the bear was kept, no one from this institution ever visited my park or even called on the phone to ask about the animal's health.
Instead, the Agency was determined to give the Đura bear, which in Montenegro is treated as a strictly protected species of animal and a natural asset of Montenegro, to Bulgaria, which would seriously violate the Law on Nature Protection, specifically Article 83, which clearly prescribes that protected animals can be handed over to another state only in the event that there is no suitable entity in Montenegro, either a legal entity or a natural person, that meets the conditions for keeping those animals.
How is it possible that a state institution, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, violates the law and all with the aim of harming me, because of the personal confrontation that some employees have with me?
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These same people are abusing their official position, thus not only endangering my interest, but also the interest of all citizens of Montenegro. Unfortunately, instead of protecting nature, they allow our protected animal species to be illegally given away to foreign countries, thereby damaging our ecological heritage.
The mysterious disappearance of the animal happened at the very moment when, through a letter, I informed the entire Government, ministries and all competent institutions about the violation of the law and the illegal attempt to export the Đura bear.
I firmly believe that, with my resistance, I forced those who had already agreed to sell the animal to forcefully take it away, or rather steal it, because it was not possible through legal means," says Milickovic's response.
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