"Euromost" asked the Prosecutor's Office to investigate the responsibility of the "Lim" utility company and the veterinary service in Bijelo Polje

The non-governmental organization "Euromost" today requested from the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Bijelo Polje to investigate criminal liability for the attempted cover-up of 18000 poultry deaths from bird flu in Bijelo Polje by the Komunalog company "Lim" and the veterinary service from this municipality.

As they point out in the statement, the NGO suspects that criminal acts were committed, in addition to the spread of infectious diseases and environmental pollution, as well as negligent work in the service, and that it is impossible that two private companies that have been engaged in poultry farming for 30 years do not have enough knowledge to transfer so many dead poultry across the Dobrakovo border crossing, and this was a month and a half ago, more precisely at the beginning of February.

"And all this time everyone was silent, until the media got involved," the civil sector says.

This organization notes that in early February, in the territory of the municipality of Bijelo Polje, the Municipal Company "Lim" buried 18.000 dead poultry at the location of an illegal temporary municipal waste landfill in the town of Dobrakovo, without the presence and supervision of the competent veterinary inspection, where the prescribed procedure for the disposal of animal by-products, that is, poultry that was infected with avian influenza, was not implemented.

As they say, this behavior poses a reasonable suspicion that: human and animal health has been endangered, a risk of spreading infectious diseases has been created, and land and potentially groundwater have been polluted.

It is particularly controversial that the burial was carried out at a location that was not intended for this type of waste, nor were the legally prescribed conditions (depth, disinfection, distance from water, etc.) respected, which is located near the Lim River.

The Lim Utility Company does not have a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency to use this temporary landfill, while the law clearly specifies that all animal waste cannot be collected at such landfills, but a location must be specifically sought, which the responsible persons from the Lim Utility Company are very well aware of.

This organization suspects that bird flu has spread much more widely, but that the relevant authorities are trying to cover up the case and hide it from the public.

"Therefore, we once again appeal to the authorities to visit all farms in BIJELO POLJE, to find the exact cause of the disease and inform the public about everything. We also request that the place where the poultry was buried in Dobrakovo be marked in the prescribed manner, as well as to protect employees at the landfill, where a large number of birds gather," Euromost states.