On February 15, 2024, we met with Lieutenant Colonel Arbnesh Ajvazi, Director of the Public Order Department in the Kosovo Police, to discuss the abandonment of dogs with keepers (owners), as well as the implications for animal welfare and public safety. 🐕🚓

We have asked the Kosovo Police to help implement the legal obligations related to the responsible keeping of companion animals, in this case dogs, since people who keep dogs and do not register them should be punished. According to the legislation in force, the authorization to punish people who abandon dogs or cats belongs to the veterinary inspectors of the KFVA, but in any case, the support of the Kosovo Police is very necessary to identify the abandonments and discover the people who commit this violation.

We also talked about the negative phenomenon of animal abuse and especially dog fights and the inhumane killing of aggressive dogs by police officers. We agreed with Mr. Ajvazi awareness-raising of the society is necessary, as well as of the police officers so that the dogs that are reported as aggressive should be reported to the Municipality of Pristina or to the economic operator contracted by the Municipality of Pristina, so that the dogs are removed from the street but not killed with firearms.

During the meeting, we agreed to cooperate on common initiatives for awareness-raising about the identification and registration of dogs with keepers (owners), but also the responsible keeping of dogs, as one of the main ways to prevent the abandonment and abuse of animals.

✅ Mr. Ajvazi expressed his willingness to support our awareness initiatives, within the competences of the police.

During the following weeks and months, we will contact the regional police departments of Kosovo through the support of Mr. Ajvazi, to talk about the negative phenomenon of dog fights and to request support from the Kosovo Police in all municipalities regarding the prevention and punishment of dog abandonment. We will also meet them to offer our support for the organization of targeted awareness campaigns. Through education and advocacy, we strive to cultivate a culture of compassion and respect for animals. 🌟🐾

Finally, we emphasized how important it is to organize various trainings for police investigators and prosecutors so that neglect and abuse of animals is treated more seriously at the country level. Our organization has organized such a training in 2022 and this year we are making maximum efforts to re-organize such a training. For more details, we will keep you informed.

We thank Mr. Ajvazi for the willingness to cooperate and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was cooperative until now in this direction.