01/06/12 Black Chronicle 2011
Appalled by the frequent and unpunished killing of animals, Animal Friends demands persecution of crimes against animals
- 20 selected examples show the alarming state of the situation where animal abuse remains unpunished
Throughout the year, Animal Friends received numerous reports by people who witnessed animal neglect or torture. Many cases of abuse result from the people's reluctance to neuter/spay their animals, after which they brutally kill their offspring. Regardless of the motivation, all cases of animal abuse testify of a lack of empathy and sensitivity, which indicates that their perpetrators are likely to treat other people in the same way, especially those who are weaker or helpless.
A considerable progress can be observed in the fact that an increasing number of people report cases of animal abuse, not only when it concerns cats and dogs, but also in cases of other animals. The website of Animal Friends contains instructions on filing a report about animal neglect or torture to the police, veterinary inspections, and the local General Attorney's office.
Despite the increased number of reports, a compassionate society without violence against the weak cannot be established if the individuals and institutions in charge remain indifferent, presenting these cases as insignificant or unimportant since their victims are "merely animals." By ignoring and tacitly approving cases of sadistic torture and killing of animals, the representatives of these institutions share the responsibility for these crimes, since they send the message that anyone can abandon animals or intentionally hurt them, and go unpunished.
Without making an effort to halt the arbitrary behavior of mentally unbalanced individuals and hunters, without a public condemnation and severe punishment of their deeds, laws will remain a dead letter. The time has come for Croatia to make an important ethical step by punishing crimes against animals and thus show that they are taken seriously. People who torture animals are likewise capable of torturing children and helpless grownups.
We bring a small selection of numerous cases of animal abuse in 2011, including two cases from the neighboring countries, the monstrosity of which indicates a similar mental disposition of animal abusers:
January 29, 2011, Zadar: A senior citizen is reported for brutally killing a lamb
Zadar Municipal Court deliberated on the case of Sime Budija, who killed a lamb with a hoe and threw it into a garbage collector. General Attorney dropped the charge stating that the crime was insignificant.
February 25, 2011, Skabrnja near Zadar: A dog shot with a rifle
A 76 years old neighbor of Dusan Miljanic from Skabrnja near Zadar killed his six months old Croatian shepherd dog by a shot in the head. The police interrogated the perpetrator and took away his illegally owned shotgun.
March 7, 2011, Mali Losinj: A surgeon from Zagreb shot a goat with eight kids with a shotgun
A 64 years old surgeon working at a Zagreb hospital shot a goat with eight kids in the yard of his summerhouse near Nerezine with an illegally owned shotgun, angry because a herd of thirty-odd goats and kids damaged his orchard and flowerbeds.
March 8, 2011, Zadar: Schoolchildren blinded a kitten and set him on fire!
Four pupils of School of Agriculture, Nutritional Science, and Veterinary Medicine "Stanko Ozanic" in Zadar tortured a kitten by kicking him, poked out his eyes, and eventually sprayed him with an inflammatory substance and set him on fire. Animal Friends sent a letter to the school director and the school psychologist, demanding a pedagogical action and an urgent reaction in terms of punishing the perpetrators.
March 10, 2011, Bogatnik near Obrovac: A living cat tied into a bag and thrown into a cistern
Early in March, a 62 years old man by the name of Djuro Milic from Bogatnik near Obrovac threw a cat into a 3.5 meter deep water cistern and closed the lid. The cat was saved by the police from the local station with the help of the villagers. Milic was charged with intentionally torturing the animal.
April 12, 2011, Serbia: A monster raped a dog in front of his own granddaughter
Dragisa R. (62) from Brdjani in Serbia was reported by his granddaughter and appalled neighbors, who saw him rape a female stray dog in his garage, after which he continued to abuse it all for the rest of the night. It turned out that the monster often brought female dogs to his house. Two dead puppies were found in his backyard and another one was closed in the washing machine.
April 15, 2011, Dolac near Primosten: A half-decayed dog was left to agonize for ten days next to the road
A severely wounded dog, who had been hit by a car, was left to die in agony for ten days, literally falling apart, next to the road in the village of Dolac near Primosten. The communal services did not react. After the animal welfare organization "Sibenik Friends," volunteer Maja Sintic picked up the agonizing, half-dead dog, which was then euthanized by the veterinarian.
May 2, 2011, Osijek: Puppies thrown into a garbage collector in a plastic bag
A cruel 52 years old man from Osijek was charged of animal torture after he put three puppies into a plastic bag and threw them into a garbage collector. One puppy was suffocated and two were saved.
June 4, 2011, Zagreb: A man arrested for breeding dogs for brutal dog fights in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Robert Cukina (42) was arrested for breeding American Staffords for dog fights during the period of ten years. He kept them in his house in the northern part of Zagreb, recorded their fights on video, and some twenty dogs have died. Animal Freinds reported him as early as 2007 for keeping ten dogs for dog fights, but the veterinary inspection concluded that the dogs were not being used for fighting.
June 7, 2011, Smiljevac: A puppy's tail skinned
Late in May, volunteers from Animal Welfare Association Zadar accepted a terrified puppy to their shelter. His tail was completely skinned, bleeding, and partly severed, while the wound was inflamed from top to bottom.
August 24, 2011, Sandrovac: A man cut dogs' testicles and let the animals bleed to death
Police officers from Bjelovarsko-bilogorska County Office caught the 58 years old serial castrator from Sandrovac, who had brutally castrated two mild-natured dogs of his neighbor’s late in July, leaving them to bleed to death. The police raised charges against him for animal torture. Both dogs miraculously survived.
August 30, 2011, Medulin: Cows left to die of dehydration on the island of Finera
Thirty cows owned by Emilio Lorencin's family have been suffering hunger and thirst for quite a while on the small island of Finera near Medulin. Late in July, three cows died of dehydration. Even though charges have been raised several times against Lorencin family, the veterinary inspection only demanded in July that all causes for concern should be removed within 30 days.
September 8, 2011, Brac: Poisoning of dogs and cats
Unidentified perpetrators have left poison in pieces of food scattered all over the island of Brac, which caused agonizing death in a large number of dogs and cats. The islanders suspect that they have been poisoned by the hunters, whose aim was to get rid of ferrets.
September 18, 2011, Karlovac: A man put a cat in a plastic bag and beat him to death with a stick
In the Karlovac district of Dreznik, B.K. (16) placed a cat called Lujo, who had a guardian, in a plastic bag, kicked him, and then beat him to death with a stick in front of a group of boys and girls, who were laughing.
September 19, 2011, Zagreb: A man threw a dog through the window from ten meters of height
Tomislav S. (26) threw a dog through the window from a building in the Zagreb district of Dubrava. The Pekingese dog called Luna belonged to his girlfriend, with whom he had had a fight. After the dog was lying for two hours on the pavement, still showing signs of life, the shocked neighbors called the police, after which the dog was brought to veterinary care. Charges were raised against the perpetrator.
September 24 2011, Dubrovnik: A man closed puppies in a plastic bag, where they suffocated
Animal Welfare Association Dubrovnik has informed us of the first case in which the District Attorney of Dubrovnik dealt with animal abuse, based on charges raised against a man who brought five puppies to the shelter of Zarkovica, which suffocated during the car ride in waterproof plastic bag. The man was reported to the veterinary inspection for abandoning animals and to the police for killing them.
October 19, 2011, Karlovac: A dog was found with a chain cutting through her neck
A man from Karlovac kept a female dog on chain which was cutting through her neck. The dog was starving and suffered serious wounds from the chain, while another starving dog was tied to her with a leash. The dogs were freed and brought to veterinary care.
November 9, 2011, Velika Gorica: Puppies thrown off the bridge in a plastic bag
In Velika Gorica, a casual passer-by found a dog thrown off the bridge under the overpass. There were eight puppies inside the bag, between three and four days old, only four of them alive. Even though they received intravenous feeding and veterinary care, none of them survived.
November 19, 2011, Bosnia and Herzegovina: Unidentified perpetrators blew up a dog's muzzle with a firecracker
Bosnia and Herzegovina was shocked by a case of animal abuse that occurred in the Sarajevo district of Ilidza, where unidentified perpetrators placed a firecracker into a dog's mouth. Heavily wounded, with his muzzle virtually torn off and without the upper jaw, the dog was euthanized.
November 28, 2011, Bralici near Zadar: Three dogs and two cats poisoned
In the area of Bralici in Bibinje, two cats and three dogs were intentionally poisoned with powerful pesticide. Veterinarian Neven Zilic confirmed that poisoning and wounding animals, especially with air rifles, is almost an everyday occurrence.
December 5, 2011, Prelog: Shot a swan and escaped
The police in Medjimurje received a report that a man heard a shot near Marina resort in Prelog and then found a wounded swan, which soon expired.
December 18, 2011, Slavonski Brod: A starving dog found chained and covered in wounds
Volunteers from Victus association saved a German shepherd who lived in appalling conditions in an abandoned house in Slavonski Brod. The dog was found chained in mud, terrified and starving, unable to sit down, squat, lie down, or defecate because his genitals were severely inflamed, while his body was covered in wounds that had obviously been inflicted intentionally. Vucko, as he is now called, is currently with his temporary guardian. He has been cured and is hoping to find a permanent home.