Iković: Organized poaching with generators has been going on downstream from Glava Zeta for five days, and the authorities are not reacting

Dead fish, crabs and frogs are what is left of a part of the Zeta River after five nights of organized poaching with an aggregate, in the area downstream of Glava Zeta, said Vuk Iković, a councilor of the Preokret za Danilovgrad citizens' group in the Municipal Assembly of that city.

He pointed out that the poaching has been going on for five days and has not yet stopped, and that he has therefore sent an urgent request to the ecological inspection, the water inspection and the Danilovgrad Hunting and Fishing Society, with a request that specific activities be undertaken on the ground in the next 24 hours to stop further destruction of wildlife in the river.

"The question is no longer whether we can save the Zeta. The question is whether we want to while there is still something to save. The Danilovgrad Hunting and Fishing Association is aware of this case, but there has been no response. I would like to remind you that this Association receives around 100.000 euros annually from the budget of the Danilovgrad Municipality. Protecting the river is not their good will or a matter of choice, but their basic obligation. Therefore, I call on all citizens to report any suspicious activity on the river to the Hunting and Fishing Association, because protecting the fish stock and combating poaching is precisely the job they are responsible for and for which they receive public funds," Iković said in a press release.

He also called on the authorities to organize increased monitoring of the river, establish night controls, and establish cooperation with citizens and volunteers who want to help protect the Zeta.

"If they don't do that, the simple question remains: what is the point of an institution that doesn't react while the river is being destroyed before its eyes? This case shows once again that Montenegro urgently needs a specialized police unit to combat environmental crime. Poaching with aggregates, poisoning rivers, destroying protected species, and devastating natural resources are not minor offenses. These are serious acts against the public interest and must be treated as such. The Zeta was here before us and should remain after us. One day, children growing up along this river will ask us what we were doing while they were destroying it at night, kilometer by kilometer. Let's not answer them with silence," Iković concluded.