Tourists from abroad who regularly come to Jahorina say that the number of dogs is much smaller every year. They also witnessed the capture of dogs in these cages. This is their testimony:

“On Thursday evening, January 25th, we were going for a drink when we heard a dog howling and whining. Following the sound, we came to the cage where the dog was locked without food, straw, water… Only a cold iron base and a temperature of minus 8 degrees Celsius.
We asked people for help, but only after a couple of hours did a local man come by with his dog who got the tools and we managed to set the dog free because it would have frozen by the morning – who knows how long the poor guy was locked up there.
Of course, he immediately frantically ran away when we freed him.
And we took the lid off the cage so it can’t lock anyone in anymore!
The next morning, we saw that the police had come, but they came because of the broken cage!
Later we heard that this is how they catch dogs and that it’s an animal trap, which is obviously worth more than a dog’s life. The people who work there did not want to interfere because they are afraid of losing their jobs, and we can understand that. But I, as an exasperated tourist, can say that I will never visit Jahorina again and I want to show the world how they treat dogs there! They need to change something about that, and Jahorina should not be a disgrace and contradictory to its claims of being pet-friendly.”

As an exasperated tourist, I will never visit Jahorina again and I want to show the world how they treat dogs there!

Tourists say they had hoped the number of dogs was down because they were adopted, but now it is clear to them that their numbers have been reduced by other methods, one of which is apparently trapping hungry dogs in cold iron cages using food as bait.

The Association Korina already wrote about the shelter in Hresha and the PUC “Glog”, which provide services for the removal of abandoned dogs from many municipalities in both entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with which they sign contracts. In a relatively small shelter with only 22 smaller kennels, dogs from Sarajevo, Rogatica, Visegrad (Višegrad), Cajnice (Čajniče), Rudo, Srebrenica, Kiseljak… and obviously Jahorina are accommodated. According to the Law on the Protection and Welfare of Animals of the Republic of Srpska, animals from shelters that cannot be adopted can be euthanized after 30 days of keeping, and this provision in that part conflicts with the state law that was adopted only a few months later, and which does not recognize this possibility.

What characterizes this shelter is its secrecy. Namely, nowhere on the way to the shelter is it possible to see a direction sign, and access to the dogs in the shelter is almost impossible, because the workers themselves say the entry is not allowed without a special permission from the director. Also there is no notice at the entrance about working or visiting hours.

The Rulebook on the Establishment and Conditions that Animal Shelters in Bosnia and Herzegovina must fulfill stipulates that the opening hours of animal shelters must be at least four hours on a business day, and there must be on duty reception of animals in emergency cases 24 hours a day. At the entrance of the shelter, a signboard must be placed with the full name, address, phone number, and working hours.

Therefore, at the end of January, Team Korina submitted initiatives for an inspection procedure against this shelter and the utility company, to the competent veterinary inspection bodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina.