Czech volunteers help save stray dogs in Slovakia
A group of Czech volunteers are helping to save stray dogs in neighbouring Slovakia where there is a widespread practice of exterminating them. Over two thousand animals a year are legally put down in this manner, regardless of the fact that many are perfectly healthy or only puppies. Prior to their extermination, which usually takes place within a week of their capture, they are placed in overcrowded, dirty kennels and in most cases left hungry. These dog shelters are often referred to by the locals as “concentration camps for canines” and their tragic fate has prompted a network of volunteers on both sides of the border to develop a fast-alert system which would get them out in time. Iva Mullerova, who is actively involved in the project, explains how it works.
The animal rights activists involved usually have a network of contacts and friends who are willing to take in a puppy or dog for a few days before it can be handed over to its new owner be it here or in Slovakia. The aim is to try and make sure the stray dog spends as little time as possible –ideally none at all in the dog kennels which are frequently ridden with disease. Iva and her friends make life-saving trips to Slovakia many times a year.
“On average I save ten to fifteen dogs a year. I have no idea how many we manage to save altogether because there are quite a few volunteers involved in this activity. We try to find the dogs new owners even before heading out to get them –and it’s becoming easier to do that because people have found out about what we do, they ring us up and say they are interested in adopting a stray dog or puppy, so often on our way back from Slovakia we take the dog straight to its new owner. In 99 percent of cases they are mongrels of course. They have been seen by a vet and in most cases have been chipped as the law requires.”
“The number of dogs put down is huge. There is little knowledge about the benefits of neutering and a general unwillingness particularly in the eastern parts of the country to adopt this practice. The attitude towards pets is very irresponsible. A pregnant bitch is either thrown out of the house or the owner will wait for her to have her young and then kill them or get rid of them by throwing them on a garbage dump, leaving them in a forest or at a bus stop. In the best possible scenario they might be left at a dog shelter, a quarantine station or outside the local town hall.”
There is generally little sympathy waiting for them there. Town halls generally have little money to spare and have adopted a harsh policy of exterminating stray dogs who have over-bred in many parts of the country and are considered a menace. The mayor of a town in eastern Slovakia recently caused outrage by urging Romanies to help him deal with the stray dog problem – he said they were welcome to eat them free of charge. Challenged by animal rights activists the mayor put out a shameless statement “Dogs do not vote for me, but people do. And the people here require me to protect them from stray dogs. To be honest, Romanies would probably eat them anyway, we are just helping them along.“
“We handed over an open letter to the embassy and of course their response was that whatever was going on was in accordance with the law. Which, of course, is true. Slovak laws are extremely lenient in this respect. The law allows you to kill a dog – regardless its age, regardless the fact that it is healthy – just on the grounds that it is stray and has spent several days in a shelter during which time nobody turned up to claim it. So that’s what’s being done – dogs are being killed without any consideration –be they puppies, pregnant bitches, problem-free dogs.”
Thanks to the work of animal rights activists there is growing awareness of the problem and efforts to save Slovakia’s stray dogs are not restricted to the country’s former sister state. Iva Mullerova again:
“Yes, there are people helping in Austria and Germany as well and it is proving much easier to find homes for stray dogs there. Fortunately mongrels are in fashion there – which is admirable. Here people still tend to see a dog as a status symbol and many people want what they call a “pure breed” from a breeder. Of course they do not get a thoroughbred dog –only a dog that closely resembles a given breed. We really hope to change that –to set a fashion for mongrels and turn people away from pure-breeds bought from breeders.”
“Although in the Czech Republic the law does not allow you to kill a healthy dog, there are plenty of problems that need to be addressed. However the will to discuss these problems on the part of both the Czech and Slovak governments is truly negligible. I realize that in view of the economic situation deputies have other priorities, but we do our best to lobby our cause visiting MPs and senators to drum up as much support as we can. What we need here in the Czech Republic is not so much adequate animal rights laws as their enforcement in practice – i.e. hefty fines and sanctions for those who break them and more powers to law-enforcement officials who find something amiss.”
If you are interested in adopting a stray dog from Slovakia or the Czech Republic write to [email protected]
Photo: 'Slyším psí pláč ze Slovenska' Facebook profile
