Paris, April 25, 2005

Cabinet of President of Republic Srbia
g. Boris TADIC
Andricev Venac br. 1
11 000 BEOGRAD
SERBIA and MONTENEGRO

Open letter

Dear Mr. President,

It’s with a bruised heart and a mourning soul that I appeal to you to end the revolting massacre of Serbia’s stray animals. A number of accounts, accompanied by photos illustrating the horror of the cruelties inflicted on these innocent beings, have reached my Foundation. These accounts denounced the atrocity of the eradication campaigns, led at the request of the authorities.

Vilified by the media, these dogs and cats are becoming the scapegoats of a part of your population, which seems to take sadistic pleasure in savagely torturing them. Equally, death squadrons methodically patrol each region of Belgrade in order to mass poison the few survivors of this eradication. The detergents and other products that are used generate intolerable agony and suffering. Furthermore, what about the corpses of the dogs whose fur is carefully removed?

I know that your country and people are attempting to heal wounds, which were inherited from a shameful and violent war. However, that was ten years ago. Today is the time for the reconstruction of hearts and a long forgotten humanity.

The knowledge of atrocious acts committed regularly on stray animals crosses frontiers. Your people have shown their bloody and criminal behavior towards animals. Your capital is becoming, like Bucharest, a window of horror. Neither the Belgrade marathon, nor the 2005 euro basketball can justify this barbaric “cleaning”. You have the power to change all this and to restore Serbia’s dignity. Push the elaboration of an animal welfare bill, which favors sterilization and vaccination campaigns for stray animals, similar to Greece and Turkey. Teach your people that animals, even strays, have the right to our respect and compassion.

With hope that you hear my cry of distress, sincerely yours,

Brigitte Bardot, President