MAJOR SCANDAL IN POŽAREVAC: People are being forced to put their dogs and cats out on the street!

"Dogs are our link to paradise," wrote the famous writer Milan Kundera, and it is impossible to count all the books, films and real-life stories about the friendship, love and loyalty between a man and his four-legged pet. Yet the authorities of the city of Požarevac have obviously never heard of any of that, as it emerged a few days ago that a decision of the City Assembly, scandalous in the opinion of most citizens, has come into force, limiting the number of pets residents are allowed to keep in a flat.

According to the decision published in the Official Gazette on 19 February, residents of Požarevac may from now on keep at most one four-legged pet plus its offspring up to three months old, they will have to put a "beware of the dog" sign on their door, and they will be allowed to take a pet into the lift only if it is empty and the animal is on a lead.

Kurir's sources believe that this not only inflicts psychological trauma on the owners, but also threatens Požarevac with thousands of abandoned dogs and cats roaming the city streets.

Dušica Đorđević Popović, a representative of the association Požarevačke šapice (Požarevac Paws), told Kurir that people have already started putting their pets out on the street out of despair. "At the end of the decision there is a section mentioning a six-month transition period for citizens to adapt to the rules and for the City to provide a park for walking pets. Požarevac has a state shelter with a capacity of 150 animals, but I had better not talk about the conditions there. Enforcement of the decision will supposedly be monitored by the communal police," said Đorđević.

According to Sanja Radosavljević, a volunteer with the animal protection association Animal Rescue, Požarevac will face a large number of dogs and cats on the streets, and it is unclear what prompted the city authorities to make such an unusual decision. "Most citizens consider their pets members of the family, and now they have to put them out on the street. This can leave serious psychological consequences on people, and just imagine the children who grew up with a dog or a cat and now have to give them up, and on top of that have to choose which animal will end up on the street if they have more than one. These are great traumas for people. There are irresponsible owners who keep many animals in their flats and disturb their neighbours in the building, and they should be sanctioned by law, but most citizens are responsible and should not suffer because of a few irresponsible individuals."

Source: Kurir