The municipality of Prishtina, through procurement procedures, has selected two economic operators for two additional lots for the CNVR project in Pristina, in the amount of 100,000 Euros.

According to the e-procurement platform, the winners are the economic operators “Goni” from Ferizaj, and “Qendra per Trajtimin e Kafshëve” (Animal Treatment Center).

The economic operator “Goni”, in Ferizaj, has done extremely dubious work, where hundreds of dogs have disappeared from the city, while the veterinary entity has been paid by the municipality for services of CNVR – about 90,000 Euros only in 2021. For this dubious work, this the veterinary subject was reported to the Basic Prosecution in Ferizaj, and according to information from the Prosecution, the case is under investigation.

The economic operator “Qendra për Trajtimin e Kafshëve” recently had a case where they killed an owned dog in Novobërdë, after taking the dog for treatment. This case has been reported to the municipality of Pristina, which so far has not taken any steps to demand responsibility from the economic operator.

The Municipality of Pristina has been informed about the suspicious work of these economic operators, and yet still contracted them, saying that they were selected based on the “cheapest price” criteria, but without asking for clarification from the economic operators to justify their offers. How is it possible for a veterinary entity from Ferizaj, which is located far away from other veterinary entities that applied in the project, that does not know the region of Pristina, to treat dogs in Pristina, significantly cheaper than other entities, and in the end even make a profit from this project? The Law on Public Procurement also foresees the cases when the bids for the project are abnormally low. How can the municipality ensure that there will be humane treatment of dogs by this economic operator who, even in the municipality where he is registered, does not do ethical work?

So, the municipality of Pristina, instead of engaging and not tolerating even the slightest negligence in this project (and other projects), rewards two economic operators who do questionable work with 100,000 Euros.

For us as an organization, this choice by the municipality of Pristina is not accidental, considering the statements of the municipal officials who call for and promote legal changes that open the way for mass euthanasia.

Despite the initial initiatives for sustainable choices for the situation with dogs on the street, the municipality of Pristina seems to have given up and is planning to approach this problem with dubious methods, where dogs will disappear and be killed, and these actions will be paid for wit public funds, in the name of castration and sterilization.

We understand that the municipality has a responsibility to think about public safety and health, but this in no way justifies the ineffective spending of public money, contracting entities known for non-transparent and unethical work. In this way, public money will continue to be spent, and the problem with dogs on the street will remain the same.

In addition, for several months we have been asking the municipality for the reports of the dogs treated so far with the CNVR project, the construction plan of the temporary care center for stray animals, but so far, the municipality has not given us provided access to these documents, even though we have a memorandum of cooperation, which provides for the provision of public documents related to the treatment of animals and their welfare.

We have tried to be understanding with the municipality, taking into account the amount of work of the officials of the municipality, but recent developments make us understand that the municipality of Pristina is not interested in permanent solutions, but wants to remove the dogs from the street as soon as possible, through inhumane methods and unethical and unprofessional veterinarians.

However, our organization will review the cooperation with the municipality of Pristina, since we do not accept to be part of the jobs where veterinarians are contracted that tend to the disappearance of street dogs and their personal profit.

In addition, we will demand accountability from the municipality of Pristina as the contracting authority, for every cent spent on dog treatment, and wherever we encounter irregularities, we will use all legal measures to hold the responsible officials accountable according to the legal provisions in power.

We call on all activists and citizens to be attentive to dogs in their neighborhoods, and to demand accountability from the municipality for every dog they notice missing from their neighborhoods and suspected of unethical work.