Stray animals in the Balkan state of Kosovo, in south-eastern Europe, are a tremendous reality. Some good news for them comes from Oipa, which reports that Italian military personnel from the Regional Command West of the Kosovo Force (Kfor) – the international military force led by Nato – are currently working to help abandoned dogs in the region, in cooperation with various local and international animal welfare organisations, including, precisely, the Organizzazione internazionale protezione animali.

Stray animals and the military: Kosovo's choice

Italian soldiers based in Belo Polje, in addition to monitoring the country's socio-economic development and helping to maintain security and stability for the population of Kosovo, also care deeply about the serious problem of stray animals in the country. Last August, the Lmt K14 team of the Kfor of the Italian Army, faced with the high number of stray dogs in need of help, began systematically and carefully monitoring the stray animal phenomenon in the municipalities of Deçan and Junik, finding a lack of public awareness and an unwillingness on the part of local authorities to make funds and resources available to address the issue.

For this reason, the military, in dialogue with municipal authorities about the consequences of the failure to carry out sterilisations and the lack of vaccination programmes for abandoned dogs, explained how such circumstances can harm not only the animals but also have negative effects on public safety, hygiene and social decorum.

An important initiative that has already yielded positive results

Local administrations have shown themselves willing and open to dialogue with our country's military, and have requested support in developing a long-term project to tackle the phenomenon of stray and abandoned animals, in collaboration with the country's animal welfare associations and international ones, local veterinary services and agricultural organisations.

"The Italian military of Regional Command West Kfor did not stand idly by, but donated funds to a consortium of local vets to encourage the sterilisation and vaccination of stray animals in the two municipalities," explains Massimo Comparotto, president of Oipa Italia. This first project was entirely funded by the Italian Ministry of Defence and carried out by the 5° reggimento artiglieria terrestre (lanciarazzi) Superga of the army through Cimic (Civil Military Co-operation) funds. All of this has already enabled the sterilisation and vaccination of around thirty abandoned dogs in the area — a number that may seem small but becomes significant in the context of countries like Kosovo, devastated by problems of every kind.