13 December 2019
13.12.2019 - The Kosovo Environmental Protection Agency informs that the case of the lion being kept in a cage in Stanaj (Stançiq) of Gjilan, and which according to the competent authorities is found to have been smuggled, is being addressed.
On the initiative of KEPA, an inter-institutional Working Group has been formed, which, alongside representatives from the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, also includes representatives from the Veterinary and Food Agency - AVUK, and from the Bear Forest Organization.
The purpose of forming this working group is to collect relevant information and review the national and international legal framework that regulates the keeping and detention of protected wild animals.
The working group is analyzing the case in question, but since, according to customs officials, this matter has been referred to the Prosecutor's Office, the opinion of the prosecutor's office will also be taken into account. Otherwise, the type of lion (Panthera leo) is a foreign animal to the territory of Kosovo, but it is protected by national and international laws, therefore any attempt to keep it must go through legal procedures, and any eventual deviation from these procedures is sanctioned according to the legislation in force.