When I was living in Malta around 10 years ago, there was a big problem with stray dogs. These strays roamed the streets in packs, ripped litter bags apart, and intimidated residents. The solution? All were captured and neutered- within five years they had died out and the problem was eradicated. Now, any of the small numbers of strays or abandoned dogs are picked up by animal rescue shelters.
The situation in Albania is rather different it seems. In Durres, local residents have been up in arms about the mass poisoning of local street dogs, their bodies left in dumpsters or by the sides of the road. A local vet, Eror Zylyftari has put the number of murdered strays at fifty this year alone.
The cause of death is almost always poisoning- frothing at the mouth, diarrhoea, and convulsions followed by death are the symptoms. So the question is, who is poisoning them?
These poor creatures are often found in the early morning by runners or walkers that pass an area of the town that is home to many beachfront bars and restaurants. One theory is that the local business owners are fed up with the dogs causing a “nuisance” and rummaging for scraps in bins after hours, that they have taken matters into their own hands and left poison out to solve the problem.
The second theory is that the killings are sanctioned and carried out by the Bashkia- an accusation that they are yet to publicly deny.
Durres is a popular seaside resort that attracts thousands of visitors- both foreign and local- every year. Great lengths are being taken by the local council to improve the area and to make it more “tourist friendly”. These measures are much needed if the city is to attract much sought after foreign tourists, and hats off to the Bashkia for the majority of the work done so far. But poisoned animals? Not much of a tourist attraction is it?
If the business owners have decided to take matters into their own hands and lay poisoned traps for these animals, then action by the Bashkia needs to be forthcoming. You do not need to be a genius to understand the risk to public health, and pet owners, of leaving an unidentified poison in public areas. What if someone’s pet ingests it? What if a street child is unfortunate enough to pick up some of this poisoned food? What if anyone comes into contact with it? Does it take someone dying or becoming seriously ill before the Bashkia take action to stop this?
If the Bashkia is responsible for poisoning the dogs in Durres, then they have a social responsibility to come out and say so. First of all, it is a matter of public interest- the people that voted for the mayor have a right to know what he is doing. Secondly, it is imperative that local people know what poison is being used, where it is being laid out, at what time, and by who- this would allow them to avoid it and to limit the risk of danger to themselves, their children, or their pets. Lastly, the decision should be open to scrutiny in terms of health and safety and social responsibility. The people of Durres should have the right to know whether other options were considered, or what alternatives should be- if this is a democracy, the people who voted should be consulted.
Under either scenario, the ultimate responsibility falls on the Bashkia. If local business owners are taking matters into their own hands, the Bashkia needs to publicly denounce it and put into action measures to prevent it from happening again. If it is the Bashkia that are responsible for the poisoning, they need to come out and say so. A wall of silence is not acceptable democratically, morally, legally, socially, or in terms of health and safety.
Drawing a parallel once again to Malta, my previous home- it came to light that local people were laying poisoned traps for the abundant stray cant population. The Mayor of the town I lived in made a public statement telling every single person to photograph the animals and make a report to the police each and every time. He increased police patrols at certain problem areas and made it clear that a zero-tolerance policy would be adopted with anyone that was found to be poisoning animals- in other words, they would be prosecuted with the full force of the law. This is the way to do things.
From what I understand, and correct me if I am wrong, animal cruelty is not prohibited by law at the time of writing, but make no mistake, it should be. In the rest of Europe, willfully harming of taking the life of an animal is illegal and punishable by a large fine or in some cases, a prison sentence. Just because this is not illegal here YET, does not mean that this is not morally wrong. If Albania wants to join the EU and if it wants to attract foreign tourists to its shores, it needs to seriously step up the game when it comes to how animals are treated. I know many people who will intentionally not travel to a particular country because of the way in which they treat animals/women/minorities- this is a situation that the country cannot afford.
Gentrification and improvements to the area- both good and controversial are inevitable but glossing over the “undesirable” aspects of society does not work. There are other ways and means of solving this situation that does not involve poisoning animals in a cruel and unethical manner. It is 2018, not 1918 and this is not how people in a civilised society deal with problems- you cannot just murder people and animals that inconvenience you. What will they do next- start poisoning the Romani?
This is an open call to the Bashkia of Durres- you have two choices:
- Are you prepared to admit that you are responsible for poisoning the stray dogs in and around Durres?
- Are you prepared to publicly denounce the barbaric murder of stray dogs in and around Durres?
If you opt for 1, then you need to be prepared to justify your actions and consider other alternatives to the situation- this is not good PR for a developing tourist destination.
If you opt for 2, you need to take immediate action to stop this from happening and you need to work with local people to find a more humane solution.
Unfortunately, there is not an option three and the people of Durres, and those from outside who denounce such horrific behaviour will continue to put pressure on until something is done.
Animals have souls, animals feel pain, animals deserve a right to live and the hallmark of a decent and progressive society is always, how they treat their most vulnerable.
“The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” – Mahatma Gandhi
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