Bitola mayor: I feel powerless as horses and goats roam the city
Konjanovski told the municipal council that inspections were repeatedly undermined and urged councillors, civil society and local authorities to act.
Toni Konjanovski, the mayor of Bitola, told the municipal council that efforts to stop horses, goats and other livestock from wandering into the city have so far progressed slowly and that enforcement attempts have been repeatedly undermined.
“Somehow things are moving slowly for us, without blaming anyone. It is incomprehensible, I feel powerless,”
Konjanovski said, adding that similar incidents have happened in Skopje and that local action is required in Bitola.In his address he noted a specific concern near a former restaurant: “The same thing happened in Skopje, a horse foaled on a boulevard. In Bitola we have a stable 200 meters from a former restaurant and for that we all need to push, as the civic sector, as councillors, and we as local self-government, to solve the problem.”
Konjanovski told councillors that municipal inspectors had come several times but that some of the operations failed because, he said, “someone broke the actions” and animals could not be located. He warned that goats can reach Shirok Sokak, the city’s main pedestrian street, if the problem is not contained.
Residents and council members have on multiple occasions complained about domestic animals — horses, cows and goats — roaming Bitola “as if it were a village.” Locals also identify the owner of the goats; he previously kept pigs in a nearby village, and those pigs attacked his mother in 2011.
Konjanovski urged coordinated pressure from local authorities, councillors and civil society to prevent further incidents and to find durable solutions for stray and free‑ranging livestock in the city.
Photo: SDK.MK)
