Press realize

We address to you regarding death of cow Bilja during Reality Show Farma. From the very beginning of broadcast of the Show some of the basic principles of animal welfare were violated. Therefore we sent a letter to Mr. Mitrovic, the owner of RTV Pink and our complains to the Veterinarian Inspection of Serbia, when slaughtering of a turkey was performed. Since last June in our country The Law on Animal Welfare has been in power. Among other matters, The Law controls use of animals in shooting films, TV programs, commercials, etc.

In Farma Serial 1 the Law was violated in occasion of slaughtering an animal by unprofessional and untrained people.

In Farma Serial 2 there were included many of different animals too much even for a farm household in real life, were there are trained people able to take care of those animals. As an effect of inability of "farmers" to organize life on the "Farm", how to take care of the animals and particularly how to give them a proper treatment, cow Bilja died. We presume that a qualified veterinarian has not been present there, especially while she brought for her young.

Since happenings on "Farm" have been described by written press and all the TV recordings exist we believe that Veterinarian Inspection will ex-officio investigate what happened to Bilja, what other negligence were done and why autopsy was not performed to reveal the cause of death.

Taking in account a very high audience rating of the Show and the fact that "Farma" was broadcast on a national frequency, the management of TV Pink should be aware of the social responsibility for what and how they present their program to the widest auditorium including large number of children.

An extremely primitive, mocking and irresponsible attitude towards animals promoted by RTV Pink in Reality Show "Farma", that culminates with death of a cow, sends a poor message to young generations that life is cheap and that civilized and human treatment towards animals are ridiculous. Animals are not just a part of setting or props, but living creatures that fill pain, suffering, fear and stress, as humans do.