*WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT*

Our organization has received with concern the reports of Prizren activists about the poisoning of street dogs in the Marash neighborhood of the city.

According to the first information, two stray dogs have died as a result of poisoning, while there are also cases of dogs with keepers (owners) who have suffered health complications as a result of consuming poisoned food placed in this part of the city of Prizren.

Placing food contaminated with deadly poisonous substances in public spaces, in addition to endangering animals (strays and with keepers/owners), also endangers people and the environment, which according to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo constitutes a criminal offense. The author/authors of this crime must be urgently found and punished according to the legal provisions in force, to prevent such actions in the future.

Our organization has already reported the case to the Police and the Basic Prosecution in Prizren and expects for these institutions to take the necessary actions to identify the perpetrator and to initiate criminal proceedings against him/her.

Anyone with information about this case, please message us or email us at info@animalrights-rks.org. All information will be forwarded to law enforcement bodies and will be treated with complete anonymity.

Also, our organization will reach out to the municipality of Prizren, which for several years has not undertaken any awareness campaign for the residents of Prizren, even though the municipality has spent €254,010.00 since 2016 on projects for the treatment of stray dogs (with many criticisms for the management of these projects in the past).

We invite the municipalities of Kosovo to change their approach and inform their citizens about proper behavior with animals, how to keep dogs, prevent dogs from being abandoned on the street, and how citizens should help improve the situation with stray dogs in long-term.