On 4 October, TIR was invited by the Albanian non-profit organisation Animals Need Me to talk about their experiences in assessing criminal cases involving animal welfare. The conference, initiated and organised by Animals Need Me, was held at the Rogner Congress Hotel in Tirana and the talks were simultaneously translated into Albanian and English for the approximately 100 participants. The aim of the conference was to support the local authorities with expertise in order to effectively investigate and sanction animal offences and to encourage an exchange between those involved in animal welfare. The audience included public prosecutors, police officers, veterinarians and representatives of animal welfare organisations from all over Albania.

The key importance of legal animal protection in Albania and its practical implementation was discussed in a number of presentations and panel discussions. The connection between cruelty to animals and offences against human life and limb was emphasised several times, as was the need for dual prevention in order to prevent criminal offences in both areas.

In the main part of the conference, two TIR lawyers also gave presentations on specific aspects of Swiss animal protection criminal law. Bianca Körner offered a general overview of Swiss animal protection law and its administrative and criminal enforcement in practice. Dr Vanessa Gerritsen then analysed the findings from the ‘Hefenhofen’ animal cruelty case (Canton of Thurgau), which made headlines far beyond Switzerland's borders. 

TIR Managing Director Dr Gieri Bolliger rounded off the conference with recommendations on animal welfare enforcement, emphasising in particular the crucial importance of close cooperation between the authorities and with animal welfare organisations to assure comprehensive protection.

The event was the first of its kind for animal welfare law in Albania and was a great success from the perspective of the organisers and participants. In previous years, TIR had already been invited to similar training conferences in Pristina (Kosovo, 2022) and Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2023). These conferences were organised on the initiative of the Animal Rights Foundation Kosovo (ARF) and the StrayCoCo Foundation and Animal Friends Bosnia, respectively (see the TIR news of 27 May 2022 and 20 June 2023).

For TIR, the conference in Albania was concluded with a very impressive tour of the Animals Need Me animal shelter and the adjoining veterinary clinic in Shkodër. We were fortunate to see the extremely important work of Animals Need Me for ourselves, and would like to thank Oli Pero, the founder and president of Animals Need Me, and her entire team for the very warm welcome in Tirana and their well-founded and commendable animal welfare work in Albania. Special thanks also go to Jenny Müller, founder of JETA Animals and People Albania for her efforts to bring TIR and Animals Need Me together. The very exciting and friendly collaboration with both organisations will continue in the future.