07/30/20 Due to the lack of government control, they die of thirst, hunger, and heat
Animal Friends Croatia strongly condemn the disgusting practice of leaving animals on uninhabited islands
- Croatian reality: they receive government incentives and then leave worn-out animals on the island, for whom the competent authorities do not care
Animal Friends Croatia is disgusted and horrified by the callous and incredibly insensitive acting of people who leave donkeys on inhabited and hardly reachable Dalmatian islands leaving them to slow and agonizing death from hunger, thirst, and heat. „ Thanks to the calls and reports of desperate tourists and habitants of several closer islands we have found out that some brute, unhuman people have left over a week ago two donkeys on the island of Kurba which is a part of Kornati archipelago. Those miserable and unfortunate animals are in a terrible shape and left to die on the island where there is no shelter from the heat, no drinking water or food and it is one of the harshest islands on the Kornati“ – a warning has been issued from the Organisation.
They state that immediately after this report they have contacted Kornati National park that has a special vessel for an exclusive approach to the island and which can board and transfer donkeys to the nearest island of Murter or at least temporarily onto the other island within the Kornati group where there are shade and visitors and where donkeys would be provided with drinking water and food. „ Instead of concrete help, we have been addressed to the person who is a driver of this vessel, and who has refused to transport donkeys with the explanation that the vessel has a purpose only to collect waste on the islands within the National park and it is not their priority to move donkeys this week. But those tormented donkeys cannot wait another week as they need the help immediately! So we wonder how a collecting of waste can be more important than saving someone's lives“ – there's a desperate call from the Organisation.
They say that regretfully this case is not isolated: „ Every year we receive calls about neglected or abandoned donkeys, cows, horses, sheep and other animals which are left to die from a painful death. Leaving and neglecting animals is punishable with a financial penalty of 15 to 30 thousand HRK. This also represents a felony of torturing or killing animals as their guardians leave them on islands knowing they will die, all of that due to their self-interest, which is a criminal offense punishable with a prison of up to six months. We report many similar cases to the police and Veterinary inspection, and we did this one as well.“
Animal Friends Croatia says that the Veterinary inspection and other competent authorities could solve the problem, but it seems they simply do not care, like the ones that take government incentives only for financial benefit but do not care for the animals. „Neglecting and abuse of animals for whom their guardians receive government incentives is a common practice in Croatia, where enforcement of those incentives is rarely controlled. Some cases reach the public due to reports from tourists, but there are many those where animals on a daily basis suffer in tremendous agony due to hunger, thirst, and neglect, and no one knows about them and cannot help them.
After they receive incentives, and the animal is of no further use to them, they simply leave it in order to ask the incentives for them again. There are no systematic checks, therefore no sanctions“ – as warned from the Organisation.
They find of high necessity that veterinarian inspection issues an instant resolution in order to save the unfortunate donkeys, to determine the identity of the guardian in order for him to be sanctioned, and for the animals to be transported to the sanctuary. Furthermore, they add that control needs to be implemented for all that receive incentives or, if this would not be possible, to abolish the incentives.
It is inevitable to enforce continuing surveillance of incentives beneficiaries and to strongly penalize those who abuse them, so they would no longer neglect or mistreat and violate animals.
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