At the beginning of January, we received this report from a reader. The entire incident took place on New Year’s Day:

11:00 p.m. – we found an injured cat in the middle of the road, and called one veterinary clinic after another in Bolesławiec and the surrounding area, but no one answered – except at one clinic, where we were instructed what to do in such a case: call the municipal police or the police, as they deal with such matters on these days.

The municipal police do not work on Sundays and public holidays. The police, contacted via 112 or 997, turned out to be the wrong number; the operator said they did not handle such cases.

The reader took the cat to the Bolesławiec District Police Headquarters. She added:

The police officer said that he did not know how to help me because they had not been called to intervene in this matter, and that he could give me the numbers of clinics with which they had a contract. He called all the clinics listed and… silence. I asked how the police contacted the clinic with which they had a contract for such incidents.

In response – as she wrote – she was told: “We call, and if nobody answers, we finish off the injured animal…”.

The woman took the kitten to a clinic in Nowogrodziec. The facility – as the reader wrote – turned out to be closed. She then called a facility in Jelenia Góra. But it turned out that it only accepted patients from Monday to Friday.

Fortunately, at 1:00 a.m., the reader managed to wake veterinarian and Bolesławiec City Council member Piotr Klasa, who helped save the injured animal. (The kitten ultimately went to Jelenia Góra; it survived.)

What happened that night, and who was at fault? It is unknown. Only on February 21 (despite several reminders) did we receive a response from Agnieszka Gergont of Bolesławiec Municipal Office. We reproduce the response in full:

Round-the-clock care for homeless animals and wild animals from the Municipality of Bolesławiec that have been involved in accidents or road incidents is provided by: the “ALWET” Veterinary Clinic, Monika Janiec, located at ul. Młyńska 36, 59-730 Nowogrodziec (homeless and wild animals). In accordance with the contract, service orders are carried out solely upon notification by authorized persons (it is not possible for members of the public to order services directly from the clinic):

  • on behalf of Bolesławiec Municipal Office, through the substantive employee responsible for animal protection, the head of the Public Procurement and Municipal Investment Department, the deputy head of the Public Procurement and Municipal Investment Department, or the head of the Defence and Response Section;
  • Bolesławiec Municipal Police;
  • Fire Service;
  • Police (only outside the working hours and days off of the Bolesławiec Municipal Police).

The “ALWET” Veterinary Clinic informed the Bolesławiec Municipal Office in an email that on January 1, 2022, it had received no notification from the police duty officer that help was needed for a homeless kitten.

The Bolesławiec District Police Headquarters reports that on December 31, 2021–January 1, 2022, it received no report concerning an injured cat requiring police intervention. However, in the late evening hours of January 1, 2022, a woman came to the Bolesławiec District Police Headquarters. At her request, police officers provided her with information about animal clinics and veterinarians and gave her telephone numbers. She did not provide details of the incident. In response to her inquiry, they also provided information arising from legal regulations concerning police procedures when it is necessary to immediately euthanize an animal in order to end its suffering. In connection with the above, the police officers did not call any animal clinics.

It is worth remembering that under Polish law, anyone who hits an animal or finds an animal that has been hit must provide it with assistance and notify the police. Regardless of whether the animal is alive or dead, the services should be notified. First, call the emergency number 112 or 997. The police will come to the scene and notify the veterinary services.

How many animals have the uniformed officers had to finish off?

At the beginning of January, we asked the Bolesławiec District Police Headquarters about the procedure for finishing off animals. Staff Aspirant Anna Kublik-Rościszewska, press officer:

The circumstances in which a police officer may use a service weapon against animals are set out in legal regulations, namely the Animal Protection Act and the Act on Means of Direct Coercion and Firearms.

We record very few incidents involving animals. We do not keep statistics that would allow us to determine whether, or how many times, a call to a particular clinic went unanswered.

Situations requiring officers to humanely euthanize an animal are extremely rare.

The carcass of an animal located within the road corridor is secured by the road administrator; in all other cases, it is handled by the municipality in whose territory the incident occurred.

What really happened that night? Why did things turn out the way they did? It is difficult to say. Fortunately, the kitten survived. Let us hope this is the last incident of this kind in our county.

(Illustrative photo).