World Society for the Protection of Animals
16 April 1999
Since the outbreak of conflict in Yugoslavia, WSPA has been in regular
contact with its member societies in the region, including groups in
Serbia,
Macedonia and Albania. As yet we have not receive any reports of animal
suffering on a significant scale.
It is likely that large numbers of pets and livestock
have been abandoned in
Kosovo, although under the present circumstances it is impossible to
collect
detailed information about animals there or to respond to their needs.
We
have not received any reports of animals arriving in significant numbers
at
refuge camps.
A member society in Serbia has reported a dramatic
increase in abandoned
dogs, particularly pedigrees, which occurred soon after the NATO bombing
campaign started. The society maintains a dog shelter in the town of
Pancevo near Belgrade and is now finding it impossible to obtain
sufficient
supplies of food for 40 animals kept there. In the present situation,
the shelter
is unable to collect food donations on which it normally relies or to
raise
funds to buy food. WSPA is organizing emergency help for the shelter.
Following discussions with the Veterinary Institute of
Tirana, part of the
Albanian Ministry of Agriculture, a WSPA team from London will travel to
Tirana on April 19 to gain more information on the animal welfare needs
in
the region. They will assess possible ways of addressing the short and
long
term problems that will be caused by large numbers of lost or abandoned
livestock and other animals, along with the potential disease risks by
unmanaged animal populations.
Until a thorough assessment has been made of the needs
of animal victims
of this crisis, WSPA member societies and other animal organizations are
asked to contact WSPA, so that all offers of help to the animals may be
centrally managed and dealt with.
Offers of assistance should be directed to:
Dragan Nastic, Regional Manager Europe,
Fax: +44 171 793 0208
E-mail:
[email protected]
Although at present WSPA are unable to mount a relief
mission for Kosovo,
anyone wishing to help can make a donation to our Animal Rescue Fund,
which is used to help any animal in need during times of war and natural
or
human caused disasters.
WSPA, 2 Langley Lane, London SW8 1TJ, UK
www.wspa.org.uk
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