06/25/24 Petition Launch for Split City Council to Build and Register a Dog Shelter!
Following the tragic case of dogs bred for fights, Animal Friends Croatia calls on the City of Split to Act
- In addition to a city shelter, a county shelter is required; opinion sought from Croatian Medical Chamber
It has been almost three months since the Croatian public was shocked by the news of a well-known psychiatrist in Split keeping over sixty dogs and two wolves used for dogfighting. Only a fraction of the animals has been relocated to different shelters, one has died of parvovirus, one dog strangulated itself by entangling its chain around a pallet, with the remaining forty-five animals kept in the original location where they should not have been kept in the first place. With the summer temperatures soaring, living conditions have become ever more intolerable, while the restriction of movement due to short chains has driven the animals mad. The veterinary inspection in charge has not yet carried out a safety check, dangerous pallets have not been removed and the dogs are still living in an unsafe environment.
The Split City Council made a promise that dogs would be relocated to temporary accommodation by June 15, however, the deadline has been moved to July.
Animal Friends Croatia pressed criminal charges and filed misdemeanour charges against the psychiatrist who continues to work at a Split hospital, despite that by breeding dogs for fights, he showed a complete lack of empathy, and possible sadistic inclinations. Thus, Animal Friends Croatia, with the support of the Animal Protection Network, requested a statement from the Croatian Medical Chamber and the Croatian Association of Hospital Doctors on how they plan to sanction their member. The animal protection group emphasises that this shocking case is only one of many that are about to be discovered, and that the city of Split has a long-term problem with abandoned dogs, lacking an adequate shelter. In the light of the above, Animal Friends Croatia and the Animal Protection Network launched a petition for Split, as a second largest city in Croatia, to build its own registered shelter!
“The Split City Council is legally obliged to build an animal shelter which would significantly reduce budget spending on abandoned animals in the long run. It is imperative for the city of Split to start the construction and registration of the shelter as soon as possible. It is the only way to help dogs currently waiting to be saved as rehoming animals is a lengthy process, and it will serve all other dogs that will need to be rehomed in future. We have had promises about the construction of a new shelter for years, however, these dogs cannot wait any longer! Split deserves and needs a registered shelter right now and it is imperative that it start the construction urgently,” state the group. They add that Split should offer its own solution rather than pay the county and other companies for providing care for the dogs: “Dubrovnik is a fitting example to follow as it set up its own shelter, following a safety and care check in the unregistered shelter in ®arkovica. Homeless animals were relocated to the new shelter, the problem of sheltering abandoned animals was resolved and contracts have already been signed with some local self-government units. After relocating the dogs from the horror site to temporary accommodation, the Split City Council must immediately start planning the new city shelter!”
According to Animal Friends Croatia, it is necessary to build a separate county shelter that would home dogs, cats, and other animals from the remaining fifteen cities and thirty-nine municipalities of the Split-Dalmatian County. Due to overwhelming needs of the local government units in this largest Croatian county, Split should build its own shelter as a matter of urgency. This would prevent city’s reliance on other shelters, ensure major financial savings as well as compliance with the Animal Protection Act. While waiting for the veterinary inspection to urgently issue an order for improving current conditions and ensuring health and safety protection of dogs in the current inadequate location, Animal Friends Croatia invite you to sign a petition for the construction of a registered shelter for abandoned animals by the Split City Council.
![Dog in a shelter [ 248.98 Kb ]](/data/image_3_16681.jpg "Dog in a shelter [ 248.98 Kb ]")
