Honorable Officials:

News regarding South Serbia's mass slaughter of dogs and cats continues to circulate the globe via Internet and press, with the present cull scheduled on or around December 18-21 in the City of Nis.

I understand JKP Medijana, the municipal garbage service, is behind the capture and poisoning of some 5,000 dogs at the city dump in Nis. Dogs are to ingest T-61, a poison that paralyzes their lungs.

Whether the present cull is underway or has yet to begin — any large-scale purge of street animals is wrong. A comprehensive spay/neuter/vaccination drive to humanely control animal numbers in Serbian cities is right. Please do the right thing.

Mass eradications are not new in Serbia. Observers contend the City of Belgrade annually exterminates tens of thousands of dogs in the region. Garbage dumps in Zrenjanin and Novi Sad have functioned as execution sites for strays in Belgrade. In fact, garbage collectors are paid for each animal killed. The government has done nothing to stop these bounty kills.

I call upon officials to enforce animal protection laws and ban the cruel destruction of domesticated animals. I respectfully ask public prosecutors to uphold the Criminal Code of Serbia, article 269, paragraph 2: "Anyone who uses cruelty towards animals or kills an animal in violation of the Law of veterinary standards must be punished for up to three years in prison."

Those who crudely poison, beat, hang, burn and shoot animals should be arrested, prosecuted and penalized to the full extent of the law. Anything less depicts the government's failure to fulfill legal and ethical standards.

I urge you to seek aid from local and foreign organizations with expertise in animal protection legislation and humane education. Rather than subsidize vulgar forms of killing, please allocate funds for affordable nationwide spay/neuter programs. I encourage you to invest in a network of municipal shelters that maintain veterinary supervision, mandatory sterilization, vaccinations, microchip identification, and responsible adoption policies.

Lastly, Serbia's welfare laws need to embody all animals, not just those intended for human companionship. In Belgrade's private city zoo, distressed and sick animals display stereotypic pacing, head bobbing, bar biting and self-mutilation from years of confinement in shabby, cramped enclosures.

As images of animal suffering resonate around the world, people who value sentient life will boycott Serbia as a travel destination. Personally, I cannot visit your nation until mass killing programs are outlawed and visible strides are made to enforce welfare laws.

Sincerely,