Original Scientific Paper
Vol.9, No 2, 2011 pp. 145-157
UDC 502.211:592/599]:34(497.11)
LEGAL PROTECTION OF ABANDONED ANIMALS UNDER THE ANIMAL WELFARE ACT
Nataša Stojanović
Faculty of Law, University of Niš, Serbia
E-mail: natasa@prafak.ni.ac.rs
The problem of abandoned animals is not specific only to transitions countries, such as the Republic of Serbia. The global economic crisis has had a direct impact on the growing number of abandoned animals worldwide. Relying on the legislative models of a number of European countries, the Republic of Serbia adopted the Animal Welfare Act in 2009, which envisaged a different, qualitatively new and generally less discriminatory relationship of human beings towards animals. The adoption of this act has made provisions for an integral and comprehensive legal protection of animals in the territory of the Republic of Serbia. Yet, this Act has also given rise to a number of questions. What is the actual scope of legal protection of abandoned animals under the Serbian Animal Welfare Act? Has the application of this Act (and the accompanying regulations) yielded specific results in the field of reducing the number of abandoned animals? What kinds of problems are encountered by the local authorities in the City of Niš in the implementation of the Animal Welfare Act? What kind of action has been envisaged in the Animal Population Control Program aimed at controlling and reducing the population of abandoned dogs and cats in the territory of the City of Niš? Moreover, what are the prospects of accomplishing the envisaged goals in a recent future? These are some of the questions the author endeavours to address in this article.
Key words:
animal welfare, responsible ownership, abandoned animals, legal treatment of abandoned animals
PRAVNA ZAŠTITA NAPUŠTENIH ŽIVOTINJA
U SVETLU ZAKONA O DOBROBITI ŽIVOTINJA
Problem napuštenih životinja nije svojstven samo zemljama u tranziciji, uključujući i Republiku Srbiju. Ekonomska kriza, koja pogađa gotove sve zemlje sveta, direktno utiče na povećanje broja napuštenih životinja. Republika Srbija je, po ugledu na zakonodavstva mnogobrojnih evropskih država, donela Zakon o dobrobiti životinja, 2009. godine, kojim su postavljeni pravni temelji za drugačiji, kvalitativno novi i generalno manje diskriminatorski odnos čoveka prema životinjama. Donošenje zakona, kojim se prvi put na teritoriji Republike Srbije omogućava integralna pravna zaštita životinja, nameće nekoliko pitanja: U kojoj meri Zakon o dobrobiti životinja Republike Srbije štiti napuštene životinje? Da li je dosadašnja primena ovog Zakona, i pratećih propisa, dala konkretne rezultate na planu smanjivanja broja napuštenih životinja? Sa kojim problemima se suočava grad Niš u primeni slova Zakona o dobrobiti životinja? Šta predviđa Program kontrole i smanjenja populacije napuštenih pasa i mačaka na teritoriji grada Niša, i koliko su realni izgledi da se postavljeni ciljevi realizuju u skorije vreme? To su samo neka od pitanja na koje autor pokušava da dâ odgovor.
Ključne reči:
dobrobit životinja, odgovorno vlasništvo, napuštene životinje, pravni tretman napuštenih životinja.
