Please Be Aware when re-homing Serbian dogs
The intention of this post is to inform those considering re-homing a dog from Serbia. The people and organisations named are or have been complicit in bringing in illegal dogs. One UK rescue might argue they had no idea but if your business or charity is run with the sole purpose of dog rescue, it is your duty to understand and abide by the regulations of both the country of origin and the UK.
Serbian law, to the best of my knowledge:
dogs can only be exported on a commercial or non-commercial export certificate.
Commercial certificates are only given for dogs from government authorised facilities, I have yet to find an individual or organisation bringing dogs out on a commercial certificate. They must be chipped, have a pssport, FAVN, health certificate and CVED (Common Veterinary Entry Document) the health certificate and CVEd must accompany the dog to the UK.
"Registered establishments - dogs, cats and ferrets must come from holdings or businesses which are registered by the competent authority and are not subject to any ban on animal health grounds (including rabies), and which undertake to have these animals regularly examined, to notify possible disease and to comply with the requirements ensuring the welfare of the animals held (Directive 92/65/EEC)."
Non-commercial certificates are given if :
the dog is a pet and travelling with it's owner
"a written declaration completed by the owner or an authorised person (see model in Part 3 of Annex IV
Search for available translations of the preceding link to Regulation (EU) No 577/2013) regarding the non-commercial nature of the movement and attesting, where appropriate, the carriage of the animal under the responsibility of an authorised person within up to five days of the movement of the owner."
these are the only non-commercial exceptions
"Dogs, cats and ferrets moved for non-commercial purposes in a number of more than five may derogate from the aforementioned rules where:
- their movement is for the purpose of participating in competitions, exhibitions or sporting events or in training for such event, and
- the owner or authorised person submits written evidence that the animals are registered either to attend the event or with an association organising such events
- the animals are more than six months old."
to receive a non commercial certificate, the dog must still be rabies titer tested and wormed, have a signed health certificate and have a passport, microchip and FAVN. Technically the documentation for these dogs is illegal as they are exploiting a loophole in the system however, they are usually compliant on all other legal requirements for exporting.
The reality:
The majority of Serbian dogs come to the UK on falsified passports from other countries such as Bosnia, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania.
In general; though there are exceptions to this but should a dog qualify for these exceptions, I doubt it would be a rescue dog, a Serbian dog should have a Serbian microchip number beginning 688, a Serbian passport, a CVED and FAVN (rabies titer test) results certificate.
You can check the results of the FAVN on the Serbian FAVN database here
If your dog has a Romanian microchip and a Romanian passport, it is highly likely that your dog was smuggled, illegally, out of Serbia. Further, it is likely your dog was not vaccinated against rabies or wormed.
Most of the illegal dogs are chipped in Serbia with Romanian chips. The passports are prepared by Romanian vets who sign and stamp the passports without, at times, even seeing the dog. Several TRACE units in Romania are involved and knowingly enter the dogs onto traces which allows complicit transporters to bring them to the UK.
My dog arrived this way and was not wormed nor rabies vaccinated posing a potential health risk for Rabies and Echinococcus.
Whilst rabies is no greater a risk from Serbia than from EU member states such as Romania or Croatia, the prevalence of Echinococcus in Serbian dogs is up to 69% in some areas and heartworm is also a concern.
Many of the so called rescuers are breed specific and selectivity advertise breeds such as Dachshunds, Golden Retrievers, Labradors and Pointers. If Facebook removed the account of these illegal importers, the number of illegal dogs entering the UK would greatly decreased.
Another issue is fake fundraising. Sadly, some prey on peoples empathy and kindness and use tactics such as, the dog has debts of xxx amount and can't leave the country until it is paid, we have 7 days to raise this. Or, this poor dog needs surgery that will cost xxx whereas, the reality is it's half that price and the rest is profit for the scammer. One rescuer specialises in photographing dogs, dumping them back on the street then pleading for funds to pay for a "pension" until a home is found. In many instances, when interest is expressed in re-homing the dog, the dog is claimed to have died or ran away. The scams are endless and sadly people are being conned out of their hard earned money.
This is not a name and shame list. it is posted with the intention of raising awareness and to prevent people finding themselves in the same situation as Barnaby and I. If you are considering re-homing any dog from Serbia or "the Balkans" ask questions, ask for proof of where the dog originates, ask for photos dated that day and showing proof of the country the dog is in. If the dog is from Serbia, ask for the FAVN certificate and chip number to search the database.
Proof of involvement of those named below can be provided if required, feel free to contact me. These are some of those involved with the illegal movement of Serbian dogs, the list is not exhaustive:
Dejan Savic - the importer who Barnaby was bought from. Re-homes across Europe including the UK.
Val Valgrays - a UK charity which should ensure they are aware of an follow Serbian and EU regulations, re-homes dogs through Tasha Sipka
Vanja Savic - no relation to Dejan but worked very closely with him. Vanja would post advertising Dejans dogs and also sent his own
Jelena Jovanovic - She re-homes dogs from local shelters or ones found purportedly on the street!
Balkan Animal Saviors- Serbian dogs, no titer and brought in on Romanian passports
"All dogs are vaccinated for rabies 21 days prior to entry to the UK, are microchipped, vaccinated, wormed and have a valid European pet passport." No mention of FAVN or Serb documentation. To easy for the charities sending Romanian and Bosnian dogs to slip Serbian ones into the mix !
Sandra Zecevic
Dusanka Anima Brajic- doesn't re-home many dogs but when she does, advertising as having an EU passport thought her dogs are in Serbia. She predominantly raises funds!
Dusanka Anima Brajic- doesn't re-home many dogs but when she does, advertising as having an EU passport thought her dogs are in Serbia. She predominantly raises funds!
Wags n Wet Noses - Ran by Wendy Feather, used to work with Dea Bella, I suspect she still does. Dogs are from Serbia but come in on Hungarian and Romanian passports. A dog of hers came in carrying tapeworm last month
Yappy Ever After Dogs - Ran by Louise Radford, current situation unknown but previously, personally assisted dogs from Dejan to enter the UK UPDATE: Louise has confirmed she stopped bringing in dogs for Dejan a year ago. As stated before, this list is a compendium of individuals and organisations who are or have been involved in bringing illegal dogs into the country. These are Louise's own words from a conversation in 2016,
"We bring dogs over from Dejan all the time and use a transport called Travel 4 Paws. The only
problem we have is that we need someone...... Coming from Serbia they are prone to such conditions as babesiosis....We also have them coming over with teeth that need to be extracted, hernias,pancreatitis and as their immune systems are so weak a lot of them develop viruses after arrival."
I did not need clarification so did not ask. You were aware the dogs were from Serbia but coming via Danyflor on Romanian passports. You knew many dogs were sick and they should never have been put through the ordeal of 30 hours shut in a van. It would have been more ethical to raise funds for the dogs to be treated and brought over legally as veterinary treatment is a fraction of the price that it is here. The end does not always justify the means and many of those listed here were not trafficking dogs for the love of the animals.
I am pleased to hear that you are no longer involved and would be interested in hearing the steps you took to inform the authorities of the "error" with one of the passports, the advise you gave to owners on realising there were concerns with Dejan's dogs and did you contact any group on Facebook to inform them of the situation?
Kendra Pinder - AAFA, Action Aid forDogs and T2F.life. Started off bringing in dogs from Serbia, working with Dejan and through Danyflor. She has since moved onto Bosnian dogs and Serbian dogs bought brought over on Romanian passports.
Contact me via the comments section or direct barnaby.the.longdog@gmail.com
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