The Animal Aid Association was established in March this year. “I have been caring for homeless cats for 10 years. At some point, I decided that such an organization was very much needed in Bolesławiec,” says Anna Ryżewska, head of the association. “There are quite a few people in our city who look unfavorably at animals and at those who willingly help them, sparing neither effort nor resources. We want to change this.”
There are more and more homeless four-legged animals. “Under the regulations, they are not ownerless animals; their owner is the Municipal Commune. The problem is that, as a city, we are completely unprepared to help them,” Ryżewska explains. “Above all, there is no place where the animals could receive treatment or recover after an accident.”
Currently, homeless dogs are cared for on the city’s commission by the company Zieleń-Plan Zbigniew Wolański. “We found homes for two dogs that were staying at Mr. Wolański’s holding facility,” Anna Ryżewska recounts. “I deliberately do not use the words ‘animal refuge,’ ‘shelter’ or ‘animal shelter.’ This place is none of these establishments. If it were, it would have to meet specific social and sanitary requirements.”
Members of the association intervened twice regarding the conditions in which dogs are kept at Zieleń-Plan. “The city probably does not fully appreciate the fact that we want to do something good for these animals,” says the head of SPZ. “I would like officials to look upon us a little more favorably.”
In 2008, the Municipal Commune paid the company Zieleń-Plan more than PLN 59,000 for caring for the dogs. “The conditions there are subject to inspections conducted by the services of the District Veterinary Officer. The results of the inspections to date have been positive; no irregularities were found,” wrote Agnieszka Gergont, the city hall spokesperson, in an email to the editorial office. She added: “The City Hall is trying to establish cooperation and is contacting nearby shelters. However, they are overcrowded and do not accept animals from other communes. Therefore, the dogs were taken to the ‘Animals’ Society for the Protection of Animals shelter in Białogard [województwo zachodniopomorskie – przyp. red.]. It was the only shelter willing to accept the 44 homeless dogs from Bolesławiec last year. The cost of transporting and accepting one animal was approximately PLN 1,500.” “That is a huge amount of money,” Ryżewska comments. “I think the city should review its actions.”
The association’s members want the city hall to implement a program counteracting animal homelessness, under which sterilization and castration procedures, as well as comprehensive vaccinations, would be provided for free-roaming dogs and cats. “My role is to ensure that this program sees the light of day,” emphasizes the SPZ president. Grażyna Strzyżewska, head of the Municipal Department of the City Hall, promised the organization’s members that a draft resolution on the matter would be submitted to the City Council in May. “Nothing of the sort happened,” says Ryżewska.
Join us!
The organization has more than 30 members and is open to cooperation. “We are waiting for more people to join us,” says the head of the association. More information is available by calling 668 616 220.
Why is the fight for animal rights so important? “Poles should finally start thinking in a European way. The West, which we admire so much, treats animals completely differently. The Dutch solved the problem of sterilizing and neutering animals a long time ago. There, people even line up to take a four-legged animal home from a shelter,” says Anna Ryżewska. “I do not want anything for myself or for the association’s members, only for the animals. They rightly deserve such care.”
As we have determined, the draft program to counteract animal homelessness has already been prepared. Councilors will probably review it in August.
(information by Gerard Augustyn)