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Lithuania
LiSPA Activity Report March 2010
During the past year, in spite of economic hardships, LiSPA has continued to voice its concerns regarding the welfare of all animals in Lithuania. Serious financial constraints have brought on various limitations in many respects, but it had no bearing on our workload. The plight of mistreated animals will always require our attention, regardless of their species, breed or numbers.
Of course we centre our attention to animals in Lithuania, but that doesn't mean we limit our work to only local issues. Being that we are also a part of a much wider European community, it requires us to voice our concerns in certain international issues as well. As much as we'd like to initiate various campaigns, often times our planned activities are constantly burdened by the necessary 'watchdog' role our organisation performs. Seems like there's always new issues or circumstances surfacing that we just cannot ignore and the need to educate our citizens never ends.
ZOOS
There are only 2 licensed zoos in Lithuania, but there are many zoo-like establishments that are slipping through the system regarding licensing. The EU Zoo Directive defines a zoo as a permanent establishment where animals of wild species are kept for exhibition to the public for 7 or more days a year, but Member States can exempt establishments from licensure on the grounds that "they do not exhibit a significant number of animals or species to the public". Since the definition of a 'significant number' is left up to the Lithuanian authorities (Ministry of Environment) to define, quite a few exotic animal menageries (smaller zoos) are operating without having to comply with EU law. In order to be licensed, these establishments would have to either upgrade their facilities to adequate EU standards or be shut down. There are Nature Centres in most all major Lithuanian cities and they are primarily funded by the Ministry of Environment. These Nature Centres house various exotic and wild animals and charge admission fees. The Ministry however isn't apt to upgrade and invest in these facilities, nor does it wish to close them down, as they're colleagues within the institution. LiSPA is collecting various data on both licensed and unlicensed zoos in Lithuania and will also participate in lobbying the EU in revising the Zoo Directive.
VETERINARY ETHICS
Veterinarians must be licensed to practice veterinary medicine and they must abide by all applicable national and local laws. However, no standards of morals or values were officially defined in Lithuania, nor principles of 'good practice'. The Lithuanian Small Animal Veterinary Association appealed to LiSPA veterinarians and asked them to draft a 'Code of Veterinary Ethics'. LiSPA has prepared this document and is currently awaiting a vote of support by the Association's members at their next meeting.
LIVE FISH IN GROCERIES & MARKETS
It is customary to find live fish being sold in food stores and markets throughout Lithuania and other Central and Eastern European countries. Common species include farmed carp, pike, trout and sturgeon. Often times they would be badly bruised, dying or even dead. There were no regulations regarding stocking densities or humane stunning and killing. Over the years, LiSPA has voiced its objection to government authorities regarding the handling, stocking, displaying and killing of these animals. Our efforts, together with EU regulations, resulted in substantial welfare improvements for these animals. There are new laws in force that require good water quality, aeration, minimal and maximum temperatures and stocking densities (no overcrowding). Injured, bruised and dying fish cannot be displayed and such must be dispatched immediately. Unfortunately, at the time of purchase, it is still up to the buyer to decide whether or not the fish is to be stunned, killed and gutted. Those that do not request this service will receive their live fish in a plastic bag where the fish will eventually die a cruel death - suffocation. Carp can survive out of water for 30 or more minutes, undoubtedly suffering the entire time. Even though stores are required by law to humanely dispatch live fish at the request of the purchaser, they do not inform their customers of this free service. This is probably due to the fact that practically all workers in a store’s fish department are women which tend to shy away from performing the killing duty. Image above: Tank of Carp
Christmas is the peak season for fish sales as Lithuanians do not eat red meat on Christmas Eve. Traditionally the 12 course meal includes fish, fruits & vegetables, dairy products and eggs. During this season, LiSPA always sends press releases to the news media, seeking to educate our public about the welfare issues regarding the purchase of live fish and we are now seeing not only a decline in sales, but more consumers are requesting a humane dispatch.
COMPANION ANIMAL SURPLUS
Many animals are killed around the world for food and other reasons, but dogs and cats are being killed simply due to their surplus. Last year in Lithuania, 123 tonnes of euthanised shelter dogs and cats were sent to the rendering plant. This is a tragic loss and waste of lives. LiSPA is working on reducing these numbers via humane education, advocating spay/neuter and demanding changes in our national and local animal welfare legislation.
Pet owners who live in large apartment complexes are the most targeted in paying mandatory monthly pet taxes, yet they contribute the least when it comes to pet overpopulation. We don’t have a large stray problem, but it’s the private home owners which commonly allow their pets to roam the streets thereby contributing to the uncontrolled breeding problem. LiSPA believes that a national pet registration programme is the initial step towards reducing unwanted pets. This goal appears to be in reach as our national animal welfare legislation is currently being reviewed.
In Lithuania, every horse, cow, sheep, goat and pig is registered. We even know who has chickens and where (due to the bird flu scare). But until we know who has a dog or cat and where, we’ll never make a dent in substantially reducing the numbers of surplus cats and dogs.
WILD ANIMALS IN CIRCUS BAN
LiSPA is seeking to ban the use of wild animals in traveling circuses. The Lithuanian Circus does not use wild animals, but visiting foreign circuses do. Many countries have successfully achieved a ban on wild animals in circuses and we want to follow their lead. As our national animal welfare legislation is currently being reviewed, we feel that this issue must be addressed and a ban implemented.
RECEIVE 'NATIONAL VALUE' AWARD
LiSPA has received a ‘National Value’ award by the major daily newspaper ‘Respublika’. This newspaper awards individuals and organizations that make major contributions to Lithuania, its culture and heritage. We are proudly displaying our Certificate of Appreciation and we are reminded of it daily as the newspaper has gifted us a one year subscription.
LiSPA APPOINTED BY LT PRIME MINISTER AS WORKING GROUP MEMBER REGARDING A FULL REVIEW OF NATIONAL ANIMAL WELFARE LAW
A farmer in Lithuania was keeping his cattle outdoors during the winter seasons which ensued legal action by authorities. When the case went to court, the judge found that our national animal welfare law did not sufficiently define the difference between ‘cruel behavior’ and ‘negligent care’ towards animals. Since the case did not prove ‘severe cruelty’, the animals could not be confiscated. This prompted our Ministry of Agriculture to initiate changes in our law. Soon after, a dog was thrown off a bridge and the incident was shown on ‘YouTube’. This led to animal welfarists demanding that the penalties for animal cruelty should also be increased (the man who threw the dog off the bridge received 8 months and 10 days in jail).
As our national animal welfare law was adopted in 1997 and is rather old, and due to the mentioned incidents, a full review of the law is currently underway. The Prime Minister appointed a Working Group comprised of representatives from LiSPA, the Ministry of Agriculture, State Food and Veterinary Service, Police and other institutions to review the entire law and make appropriate changes. LiSPA is very actively involved, demanding humane provisions for all animals – companion, farmed, wildlife, exotics and laboratory animals.
ABOLISH REQUIRED NEIGHBOR'S PERMISSION TO KEEP PET DOG OR CAT
In many cities throughout Lithuania, municipalities adopted animal control ordinances which required written neighbor permission to acquire a dog or cat if you live in an apartment building. We have many such buildings, most being 5 or 9 stories high. LiSPA repeatedly voiced its objection, stating that such a rule is unconstitutional. As such the requirement proved to be not only ineffective and non-enforceable, but also it generated dislikes between neighbors as well. After several years of such havoc, the two major municipalities of Vilnius and Kaunas finally abolished this requirement.
FEED THE SWANS CAMPAIGN
Swans do not winter in Lithuania because our lakes, rivers and streams become ice-covered and they simply cannot feed. Most of them fly to warmer waters and feed on water plants and other vegetation. The problem is that we have a manmade dam near Kaunas and the water just below the dam never freezes. 
About 500 swans rightly think that they should find enough food in the river and therefore they decide to stay. As the water plants are depleted, they begin to starve, lose weight and don’t have the energy to fly hundreds of kilometers to suitable waters. They need help, especially when our temperatures dip down to minus 25 C. LiSPA, together with the Lithuanian Ornithological Society (LOS) organized a campaign to feed these birds. Over 6 tonnes of grain and poultry feed were donated by companies, farmers and individuals. The feed was distributed to numerous volunteers who fed the birds daily throughout the winter. LiSPA, LOS and the Mayor of Kaunas presented Certificates of Appreciation to these dedicated volunteers and donors at City Hall during the Commemoration of Earth Day.
LOGGING
Possibly due to global warming, the last several winters have been too mild for loggers to fell forest trees during the winter months. Winter is traditionally the primary logging season in Lithuania as the soil can freeze up to a metre deep. This hard surface allows heavy machinery to enter the forests and harvest the trees. During other seasons the ground in our forests and woodlands is typically soft and damp, sometimes even muddy, thereby hindering access. Since the last few winters were warmer than usual, the muddy ground frustrated the logging industry which lead them to find ways to harvest in Spring. This activity led to the destruction of countless numbers of bird nests, their eggs, nestlings or fledglings. Along with 'Movement for Nature', LiSPA voiced its objection to authorities seeking to ban logging during the bird (and other wildlife) breeding season. After a long battle, this was achieved, but the number of weeks that the ban was in effect still fell short of what experts recommended. Nonetheless, it was an initial attempt and we regard it as a small victory. Fortunately, we had record cold temperatures this winter, loggers were able to harvest their quotas and this upcoming Spring should be a safe one for forest birds.
HORSE TRANSPORT
Many horses are still being transported very long distances to slaughter in Europe. These journeys are torturous, the animals do not receive adequate treatment, spend days in lorries, often without being fed, watered or rested. The current transport regulations are often unenforced and need to be reviewed. In order to bring this issue to the attention of the EU, a proposal was presented in the form of a Written Declaration. This document required at least half of the MEP’s sign-on in favor of the issue so that it would be included in their Plenary. This was achieved and now the plight of these animals will soon be addressed and reviewed. LiSPA had urged the Lithuanian MEPs to support this iniTiative and we are pleased to announce that the majority of our MEPs did so.
