They complain about the stray dog problem, but are slow to adopt strategic documents: Only 6 out of 25 municipalities have a local plan for dog population control
The Government of Montenegro adopted the National Programme for Dog Population Control back in 2021, recommending that all local governments adopt local plans in accordance with legal frameworks and this Programme by no later than the second quarter of 2023. Since most municipalities failed to meet this deadline, it was extended until the end of the fourth quarter of 2024.
To monitor the implementation of the National Programme, information was requested from all municipalities in Montenegro, and the collected data points to uneven and slow progress, with significant differences in commitment and implementation levels among local governments — most of which are falling behind in fulfilling their obligations. Meanwhile, many of these same municipalities frequently lament the issues they face with stray dogs and the large amounts of money spent on compensation for dog bites. Yet, when the time comes for proactive and systematic action to address these problems, there is a lack of response.
To date, only six municipalities have adopted local plans:
• Kolasin (the first municipality to adopt a plan in February 2020, valid until 2025), even before the National Programme was adopted,
• Bijelo Polje, Niksic, Rozaje, and Tivat (during 2024),
• Zeta (at the beginning of 2025).
Five municipalities claim to be in the final stages of adoption:
- Pljevlja developed a local plan in April 2025,
- Bar prepared a draft local plan in May 2025, awaiting public hearing,
- Cetinje has completed a draft, with public hearing being the next step,
- Herceg Novi submitted a draft to the Animal Protection Council, but recommendations have yet to be implemented,
- Berane held a public hearing in June, and adoption is expected at the next Municipal Assembly session.
Three municipalities have started preparations for drafting local plans:
- Danilovgrad formed a working group in March 2025, and a draft is in progress,
- Mojkovac began the same process in April 2025,
- Pluzine is still in the preparatory phase.
A concerning practice of copying content between municipalities was identified during the analysis of some local plans
Three municipalities (Gusinje, Tuzi, and Savnik) have taken no action, with Gusinje and Tuzi stating that they were not even aware of the obligation to develop a local plan.
It is also alarming that six municipalities (Andrijevica, Petnjica, Plav, Podgorica, Ulcinj, and Zabljak) did not respond to multiple communication attempts, making it impossible to gather data on any potential activities.
In Kotor, although a draft local plan has been prepared, it has not been adopted due to the political situation and lack of assembly sessions. A similar situation exists in Budva, where a working group has been formed, but no further steps have been taken.
During the analysis of several local plans, worrying instances of content copying were identified, calling into question the dedication and professionalism of local officials responsible for these strategic documents. For example:
- Rozaje’s plan includes improvements to a non-existent shelter and strengthening technical capacities for housing stray dogs (“free zone”), while its accompanying action plan is almost identical to that of Niksic. They also state that the existing shelter (which does not exist) has limited capacity, and that other options for addressing the issue of dog population control should be considered.
- Berane also copied parts of Niksic’s plan, including mentions of the Public Utility Company DOO Niksic and Radio-Television Niksic, as well as plans for a free zone — all without any local context. A large portion of Kolasin’s plan was also copied, without updating or verifying the relevance of the information.
The Korina Association urges all local governments that have not yet done so to take responsibility and urgently begin the development and adoption of local plans in line with the National Programme, to ensure humane and sustainable dog population management across Montenegro — but to do so without plagiarizing or copying documents from other local communities, which have their own specific local contexts, issues, resources, and priorities.
Korina | 19/7/2025
