Podgorica: Police investigate death of two hunting dogs

A criminal complaint has been filed with the Podgorica police on suspicion that two hunting dogs were shot dead in the Velje Brdo settlement in Podgorica. The report was filed by the owner, Ljubiša Boljević, who initially suspected that the dogs had been stolen. As he told "Vijesti", he also submitted an additional report to the police after, while searching for the dogs, they noticed bloody traces, and then his grandchildren found the dogs, shot and hidden in the bushes.

"Vijesti" was unofficially confirmed by the police that a report had been filed, and the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica said yesterday that the prosecutor had also been informed about everything:

"Regarding your question, we inform you that the acting state prosecutor at the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica has been informed of the aforementioned event. The necessary orders have been given to the officers of the Police Directorate to shed light on all the circumstances of this event," they stated in their response.

Boljević told the editorial team that he hunts, keeps several hunting dogs, and visits them every morning to bring them fresh water and food.

"That morning I couldn't find one of the dogs, so I let two dogs look for it and put GPS collars on them. After a while, this missing dog came back, I left the tracking device in the car, I heard gunshots about 500 meters behind me. I tied up that dog and took the tracking device, I saw that there was no communication with the collars on these two dogs. That's when I went to look for them," he told "Vijesti".

He did not give up the search and in one place, he adds, he came across a pool of blood, but did not find the dogs.

He said he first reported the dogs missing to the police on June 4. He also informed the hunting organization about everything, he said.

According to Boljević, the dogs were eventually found by his grandchildren.

"They found them in the bushes, those GPS collars had been thrown away and broken, they took photos of it and in the morning I reported the dogs to the police again that they had been found."

In the photos provided to "Vijesti", two dead dogs can be seen lying on top of each other in the bushes.

According to the report on the work of the prosecutor's offices for 2024, charges were filed against four people for the criminal offense of killing and torturing animals and destroying their habitat, while a year later, 12 people were reported on suspicion of committing the same criminal offense.

The Animal Protection Council, under the Ministry of Agriculture, pointed out last year that in previous years, the reaction of the authorities in cases of preventing animal torture "was incomplete or absent."

"Animals must be protected, and the basis for such action begins with law enforcement and acting in accordance with official duty. We ask and demand that the police approach each case with care and that the consequences of such cases from now on be rigorous punishments, in accordance with the law," they said at the time.

According to Article 309 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, the killing and torture of animals and the destruction of their habitat is punishable by a fine and imprisonment of up to two years.