HUNGARY SOPRON SHELTER MARCH 2-3, 2006 CORRESPONDENCE WITH ACTION AGAINST POISONING
From: "ActionAgainstPoisoning.com"
Date: Fri, 03 Mar 2006 17:50:36 +0000
To: Dobos.Jozsef@sopron-ph.hu
Subject: Re: letter Dr Dobos
Dear Dr. Dobos,
Thank you for responding promptly to my letter.
In the last hours we have been informed by German/Austrian and Hungarian animal protectors on the Sopron shelter proceedings.
We heard that they have visited the shelter and made contact with the kennel owner. As we understand, under some pressure the owner wants to keep about 50 dogs and will hand over the rest of the dogs to veterinarians and animal protectors, who by now are allowed by the owner to feed the dogs. It appears that the owner and police are not consistently cooperative in giving access to the rescue activities. We also understand that the dogs are found in poor to very bad conditions with serious diseases.
We were also informed on the police report that in general - but in more urgent terms of action - confirms the content of your letter.
So we are pleased to hear from you and the other sources that impounding action is taken and that the perpetrator will be brought to justice.
However, we are worried by your suggestion of a "long procedure" as that might imply a delay in the urgently needed care and treatment for the dogs. The longer it takes, the more difficult and expensive the treatment will be and the longer negative publicity will continue. So please accept all internal and foreign rescue offers for immediate relief of this situation - as it saves lives and reduces your costs - including transfer to good shelters with proper care and treatment abroad. We know that it is a serious problem to rehome a total shelter population of problem (sick and tramatized) dogs on short notice, so we hope that you will actively facilitate any foreign offer to rehome these dogs. Under emergency conditions improvisation is more effective than bureaucracy.
Although we totally agree with urgently needed improvement of shelter conditions, we are also worried by the remote possibility - especially if this kennel owner is allowed to keep dogs in the future - that you might consider to keep the impounded shelter open. I fear that this Sopron shelter will forever be haunted by the image of a death camp.
Whatever his punishment will be, you shall understand by now that it is totally clear to us that this kennel owner has forfeited his right to keep any living animal in his life.
We regret that information of positive action from Sopron authorities has not been forthcoming when it was needed, especially when apparently nothing constructive was done in the eyes of the outsiders. So please use the many possibilities for communication that are available to inform us on the proceedings.
Your prompt and reliable information and energetic approach will restore the faith in the management of the Sopron shelter disaster.
With kind regards,
Drs P.M. Donker
Action Against Poisoning
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From: Dobos.Jozsef@sopron-ph.hu
Date: Fri, 3 Mar 2006 13:39:10 +0100
To: "ActionAgainstPoisoning.com"
Subject: Válasz: SOPRON SHELTER
Dear Drs. Donker,
With reference to your letter I can give you the next information.
The owner of the Sopron shelter was prosecuted. The public prosecution of Sopron instructed the police to interrogate the breeder as suspected and impound this shelter. This the first step of a long procedure in which the 150 dogs will be identified, and their condition will be adjusted. The dogs will receive a planted chip, which are ordered and are in transit to Sopron.
After the investigate the police give back the case the public prosecution to carry on.
To revise the dogs’ living conditions, the local forces have to be mobilized.
So we ask the help of animal protector organization and people to support the supply of the different tools (for example: dog’s houses, feeders, fences) or they can help their own work. This offerings could be made at Animal Health Office in Sopron. Their number is +36-99-311-375.
With kind regards, Dr. József Dobos
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Date: Thu, 02 Mar 2006 22:14:39 +0000
To: miniszter@bm.gov.hu
Cc: allategeszsegugyinfo@fvm.hu, dobos.jozsef@sopron-ph.hu
To the Interior Minister of Hungary
at miniszter@bm.gov.hu
Subject: Sopron shelter disaster
See: http://www.dogheart.hu/dogmengele.htm
Dear Mrs. Lamperth,
In the last years Action Against Poisoning has been informed on many failing "shelters", run by mental and/or physical incompetent staff causing misery and death for numerous animals that had been trusted to an unreliable and destructive place. It is clear that such situations create an embarrassing situation for the responsible authorities. Most authorities act immediately as they thoroughly dislike being embarrassed.
Recently we were informed on a structural dismal situation in a Hungarian breeding kennel or dog pound. Whatever its intended function is, it should provide a proper shelter for the dogs.
Having seen the photographs and description of the shameless mess in this Sopron shelter we expect proper action from authorities: to impound the shelter and its animals immediately after inspection, to punish and expel the owner and to start emergency care for the suffering animals at the spot.
We can imagine that a few abused dogs inside a building could remain undetected for some time. However, it is impossible that a mentally disturbed shelter owner with more than 200 mistreated dogs in an open field escape the attention of supervising authorities for years.
It is a sad novelty to us that a "registrar" official Dr. Joszef Dobos after evaluating the situation allegedly declared that there is no reason to interfere in the current situation as the miserable victims - according to veterinary examinations - have been properly vaccinated and are in satisfactory conditions. So we have a dangerously dysfunctional veterinarian in Sopron as well.
Whatever "registrar" in Sopron stands for, it must be a function of higher glory and bliss as all official action to end the horrific shelter situation stopped in its tracks. If Dr. Dobos' declaration is true - and let us know if it is not - we have never before heard such a bureaucratic and lame excuse for ones own incompetence.
Given the sorry state of animal welfare and its protectors in this place we advise every living creature to stay miles away from Sopron.
We hope that this embarrassing combination of criminal neglect and mistreatment of animals and incompetent officials in Sopron will be noticed on the regional and national level.
We call on the Hungarian public and its more competent and energetic authorities to pick up the animal protection responsibilities that are lacking in the Sopron area.
With kind regards,
Drs. P.M. Donker
Action Against Poisoning
http://www.actionagainstpoisoning.com
info@actionagainstpoisoning.com