Drownings, mutilation: Animal cruelty haunts the Balkans
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BELGRADE — A video of a Bosnian girl tossing puppies into a fast-flowing river caused international outrage last month; earlier in the year there was the case of a dog found in Serbia with her paws cut off.
There are other incidents — from tails hacked off strays to bears being forced to dance — to illustrate startling cruelty towards animals in the Balkans, where having pets was frowned on in the Communist era.
The Balkans are “victims of a traditional primitivism,” said Velimir Ivanisevic of the Sarajevo-based Animal Protection group SOS, describing an “inappropriate attitude” towards animals in the region.
The footage of the teenage girl casually taking squealing puppies out of a bucket and hurling them one by one into the river was all over the Internet. Authorities tracked her down but it is unclear if she will be charged.
The case of the one-year-old dog discovered terrified under a car in a Belgrade suburb in April with her paws sawn off caused similar outrage.
The stray, later named Mila, became a cause celebre and local media and businesses rallied to raise money for her care. After months of treatment, she has started to walk on her bandaged stumps..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20101015com6.html
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