At the meeting they discussed the initiative of the NGO “Korina Animals”, which was launched two years ago, and relates to the prohibition of animal circuses in Montenegro. Representatives of the NGO “Korina Animals” pointed out the significance of the initiatives, informed the Committee about the comparative experiences from the region, the EU member states and countries world-wide and pointed out that they had the support of distinguished professionals.

Representatives of the Directorate for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs informed the Committee that the Council for the Protection of Animals had been established, and its primary role was to analyse the received proposals and suggestions, in order to approach amending the Law, following a detailed analysis of problems during its implementation.

The representative of the Council for Civilian Control of Police Operations informed the participants about the experiences from the work with the Police Administration, Ministry of Interior, prosecutor’s office and NGO sector, and assessed that the Police Administration was handling the citizens’ complaints in a good-quality manner.

During the discussion, they pointed out that the Law on Animal Welfare should be amended and that citizens needed to be educated with regard to their responsibility towards animals.

The Committee pointed out the significance of the role and responsibility of inspectors, the intensifying of inter-sectoral cooperation, as well as the adoption and application of norms and standards which are in effect in the EU member states.