The Death of 5 Bosnian Dogs

The tragic incident involving 5 Bosnian dogs who died in a car on route to the UK via Romania, is further proof that despite claims, not everybody involved in dog welfare has the dogs best interests at heart. I hear time and again from those in the "dog world" that much of the "import operation" involves trust and whilst I understand that, from my humble perspective, risk can be eliminated throughout the chain.

How it currently works:
Link 1 - UK rescue or individual sees a dog on FB they wish to help, raise donations for then bring to the UK so they contact Link 2 - Bosnian, Serbian or Macedonian rescuer who says yes the dog can travel to the UK and puts them in touch with a transporter.
Link 3 - The T2 transport to the UK either organises or puts them in touch with what they claim is "internal transport"
Link 4 - The "internal transport" or "happy bus to the border" arranges collection of the dog from the foreign rescuer and takes them to a Mol petrol station in Hungary or trace unit in Arad
Link 5 - Traces. As rescue dogs as classed as commercial goods for resale, they must come into the UK on Traces, a system that can track the dog from it's place of origin to destination. Health checks are done before the dog leaves the country of origin and at the border before it enters the EU. Bringing a dog out on a pet passport, pretending to be the owner of the dog and going on holiday cuts out the extra paperwork and health checks and voids the trace ability of the dog from country of origin as they are put on traces as having originated in Romania. There are at least three trace units in Romania known to be signing off illegal dogs traces.

How it should work:
Link 1 - UK rescue or individual sees a dog on FB they wish to help, raise donations for then bring to the UK so they contact Link 2 - Bosnian, Serbian or Macedonian rescuer who says yes the dog can travel to the UK and informs them that the dog has been prepared properly, titer and wait for Serbia, 21 day quarantine for Bosnia and others and in all cases leaving from a "registered facility" with a health certificate and COMMERCIAL export document. The paperwork should state Bosnia, Serbia etc as the country of origin and the number of the registered facility.
Link3 - the dog should travel from the shelter in a registered transport to the Border Inspection Point where documents are checked, the border vet signs the dogs off for entry to the EU. After crossing into the EU the dog must travel direct to the UK.

So where do you start to correct the issues that led to 6 dogs being driven, unnecessarily to Romania in 36 degree heat, resulting in the death of 5 of them? Or dogs spending 26 hours in a small car having been driven to Hungary and encountered delays on the road?

The most difficult link to break is the trace unit. These are run and supported by corrupt individuals, some with links to organised crime or corrupt local governments.

The T2 transports, they get paid basically the same where ever they collect the dogs from. Efforts can and should be made to encourage them to refuse dogs with incorrect documentation but for some the attitude is, if I don't do it somebody else will and I have a business to run. They might add that they can not bring the dogs in legally as they are not being prepared and sent with the correct documentation.

The foreign rescuers. In my opinion, they have no excuse as they live in the country and should be aware of THEIR countries legal requirements for dogs to exit it. Some will claim they would never send their dogs to any of the registered shelters yet when you question them on the process they have no idea what is required, suggesting they have never actually tried. If people here refused to deal with those "claiming" there is no legal way to bring the dogs out or that Arad is the European collection point for dogs, they would be forced to prepare dogs correctly or get out of rescue and leave it to those who are willing to prioritize the dogs welfare and legal status on entry to the UK.

UK rescues and individuals. I have said, and been persecuted, before for daring to voice this opinion, that UK rescues who are "REGULARLY" bringing dogs from abroad should make themselves aware of the legalities of that country. If you are "importing" 10-20 dogs a month then you have no excuse for claiming you did not know. It's more justifiable for individuals or those bringing in small numbers of dogs however, if your work is in dog rescue, my personal opinion is, you should take it upon yourself to find out about the country and regulations that the dog is coming from. Regardless, this to me is the easiest link to break, second only to the foreign rescuers. If people here know the questions to ask, the procedures to follow and the documents to expect, they then have the choice of whether to only deal with those exporting the dogs safely and correctly. For this to happen, people need to be open to discussion, to ask question, find information and not be ridiculed when they ask or shut down by those with their own agenda or trying to protect their own illegal activity.

There is one other factor that could have played a part in preventing the deaths of these dogs. Had APHA enforced the LEGAL REQUIREMENT as per their website, for the importer to complete the import notification form and included a note beside the ORIGIN field that this must be the country that the dog initially left from and not that of a FANTASY European collection point, importers might have started asking questions sooner.