Traveling with an animal from Kosovo to another country is a challenge in itself. Providing the necessary documentation, including the pet’s passport, the health certificate stamped by the Food and Veterinary Agency are just some of the conditions that must be met.
Traveling with animals becomes even more difficult considering the fact that Kosovo has not regulated the issues of animal transportation, as well as in the absence of by-laws specifying the conditions and duties of how companion animals, dogs and cats should be transported.
Elza Ramadani faced all this on her trip to Italy, as she had her dog with her.
Ramadani, who is the executive director of the Animal Rights Foundation, shared with KosovaPress her experience of this trip.
For her, this trip is an interesting but also very stressful experience at the same time.
She appeals to all pet owners to keep several things in mind before deciding to travel with a dog or cat.
During the trip, little or no food should be used, because according to her, the animal is stressed and if the stomach is full of food during this period, it can cause vomiting.
Veterinarian Bujar Zeqiri said that in addition to barking and shaking, animals can also suffer heart attacks from stress during long journeys.
But it seems that there are not many people who travel with animals abroad.
The Food and Veterinary Agency (FVA) has issued about 50 certificates for companion animals.
The spokesperson of FVA, Lamir Thaçi, also says that since the end of last year, they have been developing the project for the identification and registration of companion animals in Kosovo, where, according to him, about 10 thousand dogs have been registered so far. Through this project, Thaçi says that it is possible for all dog owners to receive free services to legalize their animals and have the right to move anywhere.