On October 8, 2024, a meeting was held between the Prime Minister of Kosovo Mr. Albin Kurti, Minister of MLGA, Mr. Elbert Krasniqi and the Minister of Finance, Mr. Hekuran Murati, with the Mayors of the Municipalities of Kosovo, where one of the three topics for discussion was the topic of stray dogs, more specifically, the implementation of the National Strategy for the control and management of dogs with and without owners, approved by the Government in October 2022. Our organization was also invited to this meeting.

Unfortunately, Mayors of the Municipalities had no comment and no reaction regarding the issue with stray dogs.

When raising the issue, we emphasized the importance of cooperation between the central and local levels, as well as the urgent need to control the source of stray dogs, which are owned dogs. Even the Minister, Mr. Krasniqi emphasized that the control of dogs in general cannot be seen only as a short-term project and that the Municipalities are the main bearers of the implementation of measures for the control of dogs with and without owners, with the aim of creating a stable and active system for the management of owned and stray dogs.

We emphasized that the trend or the desire to own a dog is great and will continue to grow in Kosovo, just as it is in Western countries, therefore the state of Kosovo must create a real and stable system of control and management of companion animals, to avoid abandonment and illegal breeding and sales – so that we can reduce the current population of stray dogs as much as possible.

This national strategy was drawn up because the measures taken so far at the municipal level (castration/sterilization projects, euthanasia, murder with weapons) have not been properly implemented, have not had an effect and have never been coordinated with the central level. There has also been a lack of proper monitoring and evaluation of the work in these projects.

We thank Prime Minister Kurti and Minister Krasniqi for mentioning the need for control of dogs with owners, as well as for control of reproduction through the CNVR projects.

Also, we call on the Government of Kosovo, based on the National Strategy, to take measures to support the municipalities and to build their capacities for the management of the dog population, since the municipalities are the main implementers of most of the measures.

We also expect the Government to allocate funds to implement measures for breeding control, control of dogs with owners, capacity building and temporary housing until adoption of dogs in need.

Our organization remains committed to helping all relevant institutions to take sustainable and humane measures aimed at reducing the number of dogs on the streets.

For any development in this direction, we will inform you in time.