06/01/22 Let's Unload the ®arkovica Shelter!
The unregistered animal shelter in Dubrovnik cannot accept new animals, while the already sheltered ones need to be rehomed
- Animal protection groups are working on an action plan to help the dogs: the City has promised to care for them
Animal Friends Croatia, Victorias (Udruga Pobjede) from Osijek, and shelter Friends from Èakovec, already running respective shelters and having extensive experience in quality work on animal welfare and adoption, have been working on helping dogs from the ®arkovica shelter through intense collaboration. The aim is to secure to rehome all dogs and provide them with medical treatment, as well as to halt the admission of new ones. Contact has been established with the mayor of Dubrovnik who has pledged backing by the city of Dubrovnik, with further meetings and talks planned.
Animal Friends Croatia points out that the ®arkovica shelter has had a ban on admitting new dogs since 2015: “However, regardless of the ban, ®arkovica as an unregistered shelter must not and should not take in street dogs. The City of Dubrovnik is required by law to organize the care for abandoned and wounded animals – we expect them to act on this obligation”!
All animals currently housed at ®arkovica shelter are in need of care, be it veterinary care, medical treatment, or even preparation for a marketing campaign and rehoming. “This too falls under the obligation of the City of Dubrovnik, primarily from the moral point of view, considering that all those animals were taken in from the streets of Dubrovnik and ended up at ®arkovica because, over the past 15 years, the city “has not managed” to build an adequate shelter and provide care for them when they needed it,” state Animal Friends Croatia.
They reiterate that the City of Dubrovnik cannot pass on the financially and organisationally challenging care for abandoned dogs to a handful of volunteers, particularly the kind of care that requires multiple employed staff and implementation of measures as prescribed by the Book of Rules on Conditions that must be met by the all animal shelters. They emphasize that the City of Dubrovnik must conduct dog microchip checks through household visits in the same way that many other local communities have already done, and which are now carrying out regular supplementary checks. In addition, the city should finance the neutering of owned cats and dogs and educate members of the public who do not neuter their pets or abandon them on their legal obligations. However, most importantly, it is crucial for the city to lead by example and show what it means to properly care for animals.
Animal Friends Croatia concludes that the City of Dubrovnik must employ staff and involve veterinarians who would provide care for dogs at ®arkovica, as well as engage an agency for the marketing campaign and the promotion of dogs to be rehomed. The Animal Protection Act and the Book of Rules on Shelters must be equally binding for all citizens, associations, cities, municipalities, and counties. At the moment, the best way to help animals at ®arkovica is by adopting them. We appeal to the public to spread the word that over 250 dogs from the shelter need a new home. “Let’s unload the ®arkovica shelter together,” call the three associations.
![Dog from ®arkovica [ 140.05 Kb ]](/data/image_3_15829.jpg "Dog from ®arkovica [ 140.05 Kb ]")
