ORCA Protests the Mass Extermination of Stray Animals
"Rabies is one of the most dangerous infective diseases that affects both animals and humans and it has to be understood and treated responsibly, with implementation of efficient measures to fight it”, says the press release issued by ORCA. ORCA demanded from the competent authorities, the Department of Healthcare and Animal Wesfare, the Veterinary Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and the City Secretaried for Environmental Protection, to suspend the indiscriminate and mass extermination of stray animals withing Belgrade city limits. The organization emphasizes the adopted position by the World Health Organization and the International Association for Animal Protection that infective diseases such as rabies can’t be controlled through killing of stray pets and that the only efficient manner to suppress and eradicate the diseases is timely vaccination of the animals. "We believe that all unvaccinated animals from the territory of suspected infection ought to be quarantined within the legal deadlines, to determine their thue health status and existence of rabies with them. After the quarantine period has expired, and if the an animal shows no symptoms of rabies, it has to be returned to the rightful owner”, adds the press release. The Ministry of Agriculture declared the presence of rabies in Novi Beograd Municipality, after a dead infected fox was discovered. Immediately, the municipalities of Zemun, Zemun Polje, Surcin, Savski Venac and Stari Grad started the operation to remove the stray pets and put them to sleep. |
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