Banja Luka – No Dogs Allowed

No dogs allowed | Photo by: Drazen Remikovic

City authorities slapped a dog ban on the downtown area years ago for safety reasons, but police have begun enforcing the law only recently.

Nenad Stankovic, owner of a cocker spaniel named Lucky, told Balkan Insight that the law was "scandalous".

"I think there is no other city in the world that prohibits dogs from walking through town. I live in the city centre and now I can barely bring the dog out in front of my building because the local police will fine me," Lucky’s owner says.

Fines for breaking the dog ban range from 50 to 500 euros, stretching up to 3,500 euros for dog-walking firms and animal shelters.

“It’s OK to require us to put a muzzle on our dog when he walks through the city, but it’s not OK to forbid us from walking our dog at all,” Stankovic said.

The Society for Animal Protection from Banja Luka “NOA” says that the ban is absurd, and prevents dog owners from taking their dogs in front of their apartment buildings.

"When a tourist who comes to our city for the first time and sees a city sign of a dog crossed out he will ask himself: 'What kind of strange people live in the city of Banja Luka if they hate animals?'” Bogdana Mijic, secretary of NOA, told Balkan Insight.

She said that her organisation called the city administration several times to ask them to revoke the ban, but without success.

"Dog owners who live in the city centre area are literally unable to take their dogs for a walk. As soon as the owner and his dog step out of the flat they step into a forbidden zone and risk a fine from the authorities,” said Mijic.

City police say they began enforcing the law over the past year,  and have fined fewer than ten people.

“Believe me, I do not know why this decision was made, this is an old decision from 2003 but it was only a year ago when we began to control the dog owners and when the traffic signs are placed in the city," Nedjeljko Radulovic, deputy of the municipal police department, told Balkan Insight.

There are  28 selected locations in town where dogs are not allowed.

"This is the wider city centre, several city parks and main streets. There have been seven cases where a dog owner was punished because of illegal dog-walking," Radulovic explained.

The citizens of Banja Luka have signed several petitions over the past year to ask the city to revoke the ban, but officials haven't budged.