Public Debate on Animal Welfare Law Ends August 10
The Ministry of Agriculture closes public debate on the Draft Law on Animal Welfare on August 10, a day after Belgrade hosted a second round table on its most contested provisions.
Public debate on the Draft Law on Animal Welfare closes on August 10, and the last gathering before that deadline was held on Thursday, August 6, in the amphitheater of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Belgrade, at 18 Bulevar oslobodjenja. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management published the outcome of that meeting a day later, together with a reminder that comments can still be sent while the deadline holds.
It was the second round table in the series. The first was held on July 31 at the Palace of Serbia and drew such a large turnout that the ministry scheduled a second session, this time at the faculty, running from noon to 2 p.m. At the first meeting the ministry was represented, on behalf of Minister Dragan Glamocic, by State Secretary Zeljko Radosevic; at the second, by State Secretary Bratislav Cirkovic.
What still divides opinion on the draft
Around the table sat representatives of the veterinary profession, scientific and educational institutions, legal experts, animal protection organizations, kennel and hunting associations, and the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia. The list of open questions that came out of both sessions is not short:
- where to draw the line between criminal offenses and misdemeanors in cases of animal abuse
- clearer rules on the authority of veterinarians
- animal transport and the work of foster families who care for abandoned dogs and cats
- the status of working and service dogs
- dog breeding, so called home litters, and the role of the Kennel Association of Serbia in overseeing breeders
- the welfare of farm animals, since the law covers all animals, not only pets
- the legal status of injured wild animals that cannot be returned to the wild
On top of that came the question of aligning certain provisions with European Union regulations. Representatives of hunting organizations pointed to the damage abandoned dogs cause in hunting grounds and asked for their status to be spelled out more clearly.
Cirkovic said the text on the table is not final.
Our goal is not to impose solutions on anyone, but to pass a law that will secure a higher level of animal welfare.
The ministry maintains that a significant number of proposals submitted during the debate have already been accepted and worked into the text. How many, and which ones, is not spelled out in the statement. At the first session, Radosevic said the goal of the public debate is to reach the best legal solutions through open, constructive dialogue.
How to submit comments before August 10
Proposals, objections and suggestions can be sent three ways: through the e-Consultations portal, by email to dobrobitzivotinja@minpolj.gov.rs, or by regular mail to the ministry’s address at Nemanjina Street 22 to 26 in Belgrade. Every submission should note that it concerns the public debate on the draft.
After August 10, the ministry moves on to drafting the final text. Anything that arrives later has no formal place in that process, which makes the difference between sending a comment and not sending one in these three days practically the difference between shaping the law and commenting on it after it is already done.
Why the law is changing now
With the new text, the ministry is trying to fix shortcomings exposed by the current law in practice and to build a system that offers greater legal certainty. The second reason is external: aligning the law with the European Union’s legal framework. Representatives of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce backed the draft at the first round table, calling its adoption an obligation Serbia has taken on as part of European integration, one that carries a benefit rarely mentioned in this debate: easier trade.
That changes the nature of the debate itself. This is no longer just a question of how the country treats abandoned dogs, but part of the accession negotiation file, which means the deadlines will not be set by domestic pace alone.
The date is set, the text is not. What of the submitted suggestions actually made it into the draft will only become clear once the ministry publishes the final version and sends it to the government.
