Activities presented on World Animal Day by the Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Montenegro
Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Montenegro have started with significant activities which should contribute to the further improvement of the animal welfare protection in our country. World day of animal protection – October 4th is a chance to remind of these activities and call on everyone to respect the regulations in this area, and also to behave responsible towards animals. World Animal Day is being praised with aim of attitudes improvement towards animals and promotion of activities related to the affects and acts of individuals, the civil sector and relevant institutions in order to improve the protection of animals’ welfare, abandoned animals and pets among others.
Particular contribution in this activities is done by Council for the Protection of Animals, which was formed by the Government two years ago with the aim to demonstrate more engaged relationship between the competent institutions and the civil sector in this area. The priority in the work of Council and civil sector so far has been to create preconditions for solving the challenges in domain of responsible ownership and abandoned dogs’ population. Identification and registration of dogs System for dogs’ identification and registration, which was established at the end of September previous year, will significantly improve dogs’ health protection, but also enable further implementation of measures for dogs’ population control and responsible ownership.
Through the action of chipping and vaccination, which is financed from the Agrobudget, with minimal participation of the owners, about 20,000 dogs have been registered so far. We expect that chipping will be part of the agro-budget program of obligatory animal health measures next year as well. This would be an incentive to continue the upward trend in the number of registered dogs. The goal is for the dog population to be identified and registered as much as possible. Program for dogs’ population control
The program for the control of the dog population is in the final phase of development and it will define measures for the control of this population, based on the standards of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). Local authorities should define measures that they can apply in accordance with their specifics, and on the basis of guidelines that will be prepared with the Program. The Administration will be available for professional assistance to all local authorities that have a legal obligation to provide conditions for the welfare of these animals.
The new Law on the Protection of Animal Welfare In the coming period, intensive work will be done on the new Law on the Protection of Animal Welfare, in order to fully harmonize this area with EU legislation and overcome the problems that exist in the use of the existing law. One of the proposals of the Animal Protection Council is to define a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses, with special attention to the use of domestic animals and protection of their welfare by the competent inspection services, as well as a ban on the use of furs for fur production. Support for NGO projects Recognizing the prospective significantly contribute of NGOs in dealing with the protection of animal welfare, the Ministry of Agriculture has allocated support in the amount of more than 390 thousand euros through tenders for financing NGO projects, during period of 2018-2020.
The projects supported in 2018 were mostly successfully implemented, while the projects from 2019 are still in the implementation phase, which has been slowed down due to the consequences of the COVID19 pandemic. Priority challenges in the field of animal welfare protection, which are planned to be solved through financing NGO projects / programs in 2020, are: raising awareness of citizens and animal owners about responsible ownership / attitude towards animals; development of local plans for dog population control at the local level in cooperation with local authorities in accordance with the Program for dog population control in Montenegro; improvement of technical conditions in shelters for abandoned animals (pets) registered in the Administration’s register; improving welfare conditions for other abandoned animals; continious education / promotion of responsible ownership based on the campaign “Perfect friend, without home”; reduction and stabilization of the population of abandoned dogs through increasing the number of adopted dogs.
It is also recommended to continue cooperation with international organizations that in the previous period provided support in improvement of conditions in the shelter, but also for the implementation of programs to reduce the population of dogs by the method – “catch, sterilize, vaccinate and release”. Mindful of all measures taken due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Administration and the Veterinary Chamber of Montenegro have prepared recommendations for animal owners to protect the health and welfare of their animals through methods of prevention.
We note that in the previous period, a number of measures were taken against irresponsible owners in terms of neglect, abandonment and abuse of animals and pets. We believe that by clubbing together competent institutions, the Council and the civil sector in the previous period has made progress in improving animal welfare and raising awareness in this area. Such an approach, with even stronger cooperation, is needed in the coming period, in order to respond to the upcoming challenges in animal protection.
Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs Montenegro
https://ubh.gov.me/vijesti/234445/Brojne-aktivnosti-na-unapredenju-dobrobiti-zivotinja.html
- Contact Name: Uprava za bezbjednost hrane
- Contact Email: upravazabezbjednosthrane@ubh.gov.me
- Location: Podgorica
- Organised by: UBHVFP Montenegro
https://ubh.gov.me/vijesti/234445/Brojne-aktivnosti-na-unapredenju-dobrobiti-zivotinja.html
Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Montenegro have started with significant activities which should contribute to the further improvement of the animal welfare protection in our country. World day of animal protection – October 4th is a chance to remind of these activities and call on everyone to respect the regulations in this area, and also to behave responsible towards animals. World Animal Day is being praised with aim of attitudes improvement towards animals and promotion of activities related to the affects and acts of individuals, the civil sector and relevant institutions in order to improve the protection of animals’ welfare, abandoned animals and pets among others.
Particular contribution in this activities is done by Council for the Protection of Animals, which was formed by the Government two years ago with the aim to demonstrate more engaged relationship between the competent institutions and the civil sector in this area. The priority in the work of Council and civil sector so far has been to create preconditions for solving the challenges in domain of responsible ownership and abandoned dogs’ population. Identification and registration of dogs System for dogs’ identification and registration, which was established at the end of September previous year, will significantly improve dogs’ health protection, but also enable further implementation of measures for dogs’ population control and responsible ownership.
Through the action of chipping and vaccination, which is financed from the Agrobudget, with minimal participation of the owners, about 20,000 dogs have been registered so far. We expect that chipping will be part of the agro-budget program of obligatory animal health measures next year as well. This would be an incentive to continue the upward trend in the number of registered dogs. The goal is for the dog population to be identified and registered as much as possible. Program for dogs’ population control
The program for the control of the dog population is in the final phase of development and it will define measures for the control of this population, based on the standards of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). Local authorities should define measures that they can apply in accordance with their specifics, and on the basis of guidelines that will be prepared with the Program. The Administration will be available for professional assistance to all local authorities that have a legal obligation to provide conditions for the welfare of these animals.
The new Law on the Protection of Animal Welfare In the coming period, intensive work will be done on the new Law on the Protection of Animal Welfare, in order to fully harmonize this area with EU legislation and overcome the problems that exist in the use of the existing law. One of the proposals of the Animal Protection Council is to define a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses, with special attention to the use of domestic animals and protection of their welfare by the competent inspection services, as well as a ban on the use of furs for fur production. Support for NGO projects Recognizing the prospective significantly contribute of NGOs in dealing with the protection of animal welfare, the Ministry of Agriculture has allocated support in the amount of more than 390 thousand euros through tenders for financing NGO projects, during period of 2018-2020.
The projects supported in 2018 were mostly successfully implemented, while the projects from 2019 are still in the implementation phase, which has been slowed down due to the consequences of the COVID19 pandemic. Priority challenges in the field of animal welfare protection, which are planned to be solved through financing NGO projects / programs in 2020, are: raising awareness of citizens and animal owners about responsible ownership / attitude towards animals; development of local plans for dog population control at the local level in cooperation with local authorities in accordance with the Program for dog population control in Montenegro; improvement of technical conditions in shelters for abandoned animals (pets) registered in the Administration’s register; improving welfare conditions for other abandoned animals; continious education / promotion of responsible ownership based on the campaign “Perfect friend, without home”; reduction and stabilization of the population of abandoned dogs through increasing the number of adopted dogs.
It is also recommended to continue cooperation with international organizations that in the previous period provided support in improvement of conditions in the shelter, but also for the implementation of programs to reduce the population of dogs by the method – “catch, sterilize, vaccinate and release”. Mindful of all measures taken due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Administration and the Veterinary Chamber of Montenegro have prepared recommendations for animal owners to protect the health and welfare of their animals through methods of prevention.
We note that in the previous period, a number of measures were taken against irresponsible owners in terms of neglect, abandonment and abuse of animals and pets. We believe that by clubbing together competent institutions, the Council and the civil sector in the previous period has made progress in improving animal welfare and raising awareness in this area. Such an approach, with even stronger cooperation, is needed in the coming period, in order to respond to the upcoming challenges in animal protection.
Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs Montenegro