Bosnian flag Consulate-General of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Chicago

Address500 North Michigan Ave, Suite 750
Chicago, IL 60611
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» Can I visit Bosnia and Herzegovina without a visa?

Comments on this Consulate-General

Vezirka
Tue, 14 Jan 2014 20:27 EST
Visa
Imam roditelje u Luxemburgu Zelim ih posjetiti a posjedujem green card I Bosanski Passos Dali trebam jos nesto I kako mogu to nabaviti
Semso Brakic
Sat, 2 Nov 2013 13:58 EDT
Pitanje
Sta vam znaci skracenica PDK u upitniku za Pasos?
Kimberly Duncan
Fri, 18 Oct 2013 11:36 EDT
Stop Bosnia from Implementing Kill Law
STOP BOSNIA FROM IMPLEMENTING KILL LAW!
Dear Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Washington, DC, USA,

ABSOLUTELY HORRIFIC WHAT IS GOING ON AND WHAT YOU ARE ALLOWING TO HAPPEN. YOU NEED TO START SHOWING SOME COMPASSION TOWARD YOUR STRAY ANIMALS AS IT IS PEOPLE THAT HAVE MADE THEM STRAYS TO BEGIN WITH. THE WORLD IS WATCHING WHAT YOU DO.

Millions of EU citizens care deeply about animal welfare and are sickened to see constant reports of horrific animal cruelty, and look to the EU to help improve animal welfare across Europe. Countries seeking to acquire EU membership need to demonstrate certain standards of animal care, and so I want to bring to your attention Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are seeking admission, and who, in the next two weeks are about to vote on the existing Animal Protection and Welfare Act. I am writing to ask your assistance in ensuring that this law is not changed, but rather that it is actually enforced.

Proposed changes to the Animal Protection and Welfare Act are to make euthanasia legal in all shelters. Euthanasia would be performed within 15 days from a stray dog’s arrival in a shelter. If these changes come into effect, it will have dire consequences for the strays of the country.

Please be aware that while ‘euthanasia’ may seem to be a logical way of dealing with an increasing and endemic stray dog population, this is a costly way to kill dogs and generally very brutal methods are used in shelters in Bosnia-Herzegovina. There is documented evidence of this.

The existing Animal Welfare and Protection Act of Bosnia-Herzegovina is in fact a good and enforceable law. The only reason the law is not being enforced is because certain political and professional circles do not want to do it. (For a full translation of the existing law, please download this PDF http://inmemoryofvucko.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/lawonanimal-protectionbosniaherzegovina.pdf)

The current law makes euthanising stray dogs illegal, – except a) when the animal cannot be cured and keeping it alive would only cause unnecessary pain and further suffering; b) the animal has reached such an old age, its vital bodily functions are terminating; c) the animal suffers from an incurable and/or infectious disease, or such a disease can represent a threat to humans; d) the animal is dangerous; e) the animal is in agony. The truth is, currently dogs are ‘euthanised’ randomly and seriously disregarding the above laws, and in highly inhumane ways: clubbing, injections of bleach, starvation, burning, buried alive.

In addition, the current Animal Protection and Welfare Act states that every city and town has to build shelters for stray animals. All shelters for stray animals have to provide a NO KILL policy and adequate care, including veterinary care for the animals housed there. Again, the truth is that the conditions in most public shelters are horrific, with dogs being left for days without water, food or care of any kind. There is documented evidence of this.

What is crucial regarding the proposed changes to the law is that “Catch & kill” or “catch & incarcerate” policies have failed in numerous other countries. Cities that have successfully managed and curbed their stray animal population were those that opted for a “catch & return” policy. Studies on management of stray dog and cat population are unanimous in that euthanisation is not the most effective way to control populations. Euthanasia deals only with the symptoms and not the cause of the problem. It is expensive, inhumane and will not provide a permanent solution. Studies have shown that TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) and CNR (Catch-Neuter-Return) programmes are far more effective (and far more humane) than euthanasia to reduce the street animal population.

A change to the law will also mean extraordinary wastage of funds and time involved in previous spay-neuter programs of strays, most notably that of Dogs Trust, who sterilised 3000 dogs this June, 2013.

At a Parliament debate on the 3rd of October, SDP representative Nermina Zaimović-Uzunović, the Member of House of representatives of Parliamentary Assembly who originally proposed the amendments to the law, said she was disappointed the discussion focused on Dogs Trust and their project which was financed by “the Queen” – and that Dogs Trust only worked in their own interest and this interest was financed by the “Queen”. Instead of acknowledging the good work done by Dogs Trust, and at great expense, she dismisses it, and certainly does not acknowledge that if her changes come into effect, the 3000 dogs sterilised by Dogs Trust will probably be killed. What a waste!

It's important also to note that deliberate animal abuse is rife in Bosnia, and many international animal welfare organizations cite Bosnia as the country with the most instances of horrific animal cruelty and suffering. There is the famous case in Ilidža in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, where two men put a rocket explosive firework into a young German Shepherd’s mouth and duct-taped his jaws shut, setting the rocket alight. The firework caused horrific injuries to the dog’s face, but did not kill him. He wandered about for five days before being finally rescued by animal welfare volunteers The dog had to be euthanized. Nearly 200,000 people signed these petitions asking the Bosnian and Herzegovinian authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice, but nothing was done.

There is clear evidence now that people who take pleasure in harming animals are also a potential danger to other people, especially children.

Any change to the Animal Protection and Welfare Act allowing 'euthanisation' of healthy dogs in shelters will certainly send a message to the populace that killing of dogs and cats is acceptable in all circumstances.

As you will be aware, the European Union provides the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina and with many millions of euros worth of financial aid each year. I believe the allocation for 2012 was around €107.8m. My understanding of the provisos attached to these aid packages is that there is a requirement for the recipient country to abide by EU laws which would include the laws related to animal welfare. The Commission has stated that aligning national animal welfare legislation with EU law is a prerequisite for EU membership.

I would urge you please to raise the above issues with the European Commission and the European Parliament’s Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of animals (http://www.animalwelfareintergroup.eu/) and, critically, with your representatives in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The issue of the proposed changes to the law must be addressed in the coming days. It is imperative that the European Commission and the Parliament discusses this matter with their Bosnia and Herzegovina counterparts.

The European Parliament states that “The EU has among the world’s highest standards of animal welfare”. The Eurogroup for Animal Welfare (http://eurogroupforanimals.org/ )is strongly urging the European Commission to adopt adequate measures to ensure that all pet animals are properly treated to protect their health and welfare. If it is Bosnia and Herzegovina’s wish to join the EU it would seem that until their government takes crimes against defenseless, sentient animals seriously they will not be a fit country to be accepted into the EU.

We urge you to help ensure that the Bosnia Herzegovina authorities implement internationally agreed-upon guiding principles on humane stray dog population control, and that resources be allocated to ensure such principles are followed.

Many thanks for your time, I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,
Julie Schampel
Fri, 18 Oct 2013 08:54 EDT
KILLING ANIMALS IS NOT THE ANSWER!
Compassion and understanding is the key, not killing!

The problem of street dogs in Bosnia and Herzegovina: The solution is in registration, sterilization, and punishment.

Do the right thing and stop the implementation of the killing law!
H. Guh
Wed, 9 Oct 2013 21:20 EDT
TNR
Killing is not a solution! TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) is an effective way to control the population of stray animals. Please do not allow euthanasia in shelters. Thank you.
Remzija kadusic
Fri, 9 Aug 2013 13:25 EDT
Aplikacija za bosanski Pasos
treba mi Aplikacija za bosanski Pasos nemogu da je najdem. na web stranici moj broj telefna je 319 427-3716 adressa 3953 sager ave waterloo ia 50701
HUSEIN MUJKANOVIC
Tue, 30 Jul 2013 22:14 EDT
ZAHTIJEV
MOLIM AKO IKAKO MOZETE MI POSLATI FORMULAR KOJI SE TREBA ISPUNITI ZA PASOS VEC SAM PRIJE GODINU DOSTAVIO INFORMACIJE AL NISAM IMO VREMENA DOCI NAPRAVITI PASOS PA VAS MOLIM LINK TAJ FORM DA ISPUNIM NA ADRESU huso_nezi@hotmail.com unaprijed hvala
Ema Hadziselimovic
Sun, 9 Jun 2013 22:34 EDT
Marriage to an American and name change
I will be marrying an American man in August 2013 and need to know how to deal with the name change and updating my Bosnian documents as I am a dual citizen with both Bosnian and American citizenship.
I need this information as soon as possible and the main question is do I need to fly to Sarajevo, place of birth, to be present and file the updates or can this be done at one of the Embassies in the States.
my email is hahnstobe@gmail.com
Thank you!
Safeta
Mon, 11 Mar 2013 09:24 EDT
Produzetak pasosa
Postovanje.
Zeljela bi da znam sta treba za zamjenu ili produzetak pasosa.Mom sinu je isteko pasos i sad bi trebali novi?Koja je procedura sta treba od dokumentacije?Za koliko bi bio gotov i koliko kosta?
Unapred hvala.
Safeta
David W Rugh
Sat, 17 Nov 2012 01:44 EST
Fraud, paid the for a new passport for my wife, never recieved,paid money!
April 2009, We traveled to Chicago to get Vidossva a new passport in order to attend her mothers funeral. The consuslate personell were first reluctant to pay attention to our case. They finally decided to take the case. Vida provided all documents to include her original birth certificate. The consulate later said their was no record of her birth, and said said she needed an new birth certificate! No passport,no refund...

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