Anna Ryżewska to the mayor: Are you also only being fed?

Anna Ryżewska, in a letter to residents, pointed out that the city of Bolesławiec shifts responsibility onto volunteers and social organizations, funding only the transport of dogs to distant facilities while allocating minimal resources to treating cats.

“I spoke with members of the Animal Aid Association,” writes Anna Ryżewska. “Their everyday reality is a lack of premises for keeping homeless cats, a lack of a working trap cage, and very little money—PLN 60,000 a year for more than 800 cats—for treatment, sterilization and neutering, as well as feeding cats, not ‘supplementary feeding,’ Mr. Mayor; we are talking about cats that should receive a full day’s worth of nutritious food!” Are you also merely being fed? asks the animal lover.

Ryżewska bluntly criticizes officials for their dismissive attitude toward the problem and the lack of transparency in inspections concerning the living conditions of the animals.

Anna Ryżewska appeals to residents to take an active civic stance, encouraging them to monitor budget spending and intervene in cases of neglect. The inspiration for this appeal comes from recent, widely publicized interventions by singer Doda, which demonstrated the power of social pressure on administrative authorities.

Anna Ryżewska’s letter is an emotional call to fight for the dignified treatment of animals and to enforce local decision-makers’ statutory responsibilities.

Dear Residents of Bolesławiec,

the recent events at shelters in Bytom and Sobolew, and the tremendous involvement of Dorota Rabczewska and Łukasz Litewka in those problems, prompted me to reflect on local care for homeless animals, which I would like to 
share with you. I kindly ask you to receive these words without judgment or hostility. I hope my words reach people who love and respect animals, while those who do not like animals will refrain from unfavorable comments—and I ask this very much of you.

What are we, the people of Bolesławiec, doing when it comes to caring for homeless animals—and what are we not doing, or perhaps even what do we prefer not to see or know?

The local government should, naturally, lead the way in providing help, as it is legally obliged to care for homeless animals. A subtle but important distinction: does our City Hall WANT to help homeless dogs and free-roaming cats, or is it merely LEGALLY REQUIRED to do so?

The Animal Aid Association, the first local animal-welfare organization, had been reminding the mayor of Bolesławiec of the municipality’s obligations toward homeless animals since 2009. City Hall did not want to help, but initially reluctantly began cooperating with us. At the first joint meeting with the mayor, a representative of the Jelenia Góra TOZ, the chairwoman of the Bolesławiec City Council, one councilor, and the then commander and deputy commander of the Municipal Guard, we had the impression that some of these people treated us dismissively, and at times even mocked us…

“Because, after all, animals are not a priority for the municipality, because there is no money, because…”

Along the way, we also had the ill-conceived resolution of the Bolesławiec City Council, which concerned, among other things, limiting the number of animals in multi-family buildings—it was entirely repealed by the voivode, partly because it was inconsistent with the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.

The mayor has still not built a shelter. Why? At the time, he gave two reasons: lack of money and appropriate land. To this day, these are merely “excuses” to me. The local government prefers to spend several hundred thousand zlotys a year sending homeless dogs to and keeping them at the Shelter for Homeless Animals in Przylasek (do the conditions under which the dogs are transported now meet regulatory standards? They did not in the past). Of course, the local government would also have to fund a shelter in Bolesławiec. However, we could then regularly check whether the conditions meet the requirements set out in the ministerial regulation and the Animal Protection Act.

Who would do that?

Let us leave formal inspections to the District Veterinary Inspectorate. But any of us who finds that animals are not receiving what is due to them can notify the police, the prosecutor’s office and/or the inspectorate.
If the latter—which does happen—fail to react, we have institutions “one level higher,” the media, members of the Sejm and senators. And also, as we can see, so-called celebrities, who demonstrate that we Poles can be effective and act in the name of the good. Even if, as we saw in Sobolew, not entirely legally. And do the police, village heads, mayors, city presidents, and veterinary inspectorates always act according to the letter of the law? Really???

• When was the last time someone from our local government—more precisely, from MZGM—inspected the conditions in which animals are kept in Przylasek?
• How many “our” dogs are there?
• How much money does our local government spend each year on homeless dogs—that is, on treatment and shelter stays?

I spoke with members of the Animal Aid Association. Their everyday reality is a lack of premises for keeping homeless cats, a lack of a working trap cage, very little money for treatment, sterilization and neutering, and feeding cats—not “supplementary feeding,” Mr. Mayor; we are talking about cats that should receive a full day’s worth of nutritious food—are you also merely being fed…?)—PLN 60,000 a year for more than 800 cats.

For years, the association has also used a small plot of land where two old gazebos stand. The cats find temporary refuge there. I will therefore not hesitate to write that the Municipality of Bolesławiec saves enormously and benefits from the presence of volunteers, both those from the association and those unaffiliated. Let us remember the Bolesławieckie Koty group, to which the municipality gives absolutely nothing, and thanks to which very many animals have found new homes, and before that, shelter or treatment.

Let us ask officials questions and check the mayor’s annual report on the implementation of the budget, available, for example, on the City Hall’s BIP website. If something does not add up or an official fails to provide information, let us file a complaint, request an intervention, and act individually or as a group. All the information is “within reach” thanks to visits to the office or submitting a request for public information in accordance with the Act on Access to Public Information.

Each of us HAS THE RIGHT to go to Przylasek and inspect the shelter conditions there, as well as at other facilities—those run by foundations. If someone does not want to let us into a shelter, sanctuary, or animal refuge, let us ask: why is that? What is that person hiding?

Each of us HAS THE RIGHT to ask questions and receive answers—from the mayor, village head, the woman from UM and MZGM, the shelter manager, the president of an association or foundation—and to expect immediate action from the inspectorate, police, and officials.
We received a good example last week in Bytom and on Saturday in Sobolew. And notice, ladies and gentlemen—not from officials who, aware of the scale of the problems, remained passive, but from people of good will.
Let us react to officials’ sluggishness, sabotage, and ill will.

Let us react to harm done to animals!

So that it does not end up as on the banner of one of the activists outside the village head’s office in Sobolew: “Clean on paper. Not in conscience.”
Finally, the words of Dorota Rabczewska: “Each of you has the same power to make yourselves heard; you just have to keep chiseling away at the rock […]. Do not stop. This is only the beginning.”
I send you my warmest regards and wish you much prosperity and good health.

Anna Ryżewska—former president of the Animal Aid Association in Bolesławiec