Struga prosecutors order urgent toxicology tests on two dogs amid poisoning suspicions

The Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Struga has ordered an urgent toxicological examination of two dogs after suspicions arose that they were poisoned, within a criminal procedure for the offence of Killing and mistreating animals under Article 233 of the Criminal Code.

The instruction names the Veterinary Institute — Toxicology in Skopje as the body that must carry out the analysis. The examination should establish whether poisoning was the cause of death.

Transport and deadline

Transport of the animals to Skopje was delegated to a veterinarian from the Struga-Vet veterinary station. Prosecutors demanded that the testing be performed immediately and ordered that the findings and expert opinion be sent without delay to the Struga Police Department (OVR Struga) and the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Struga.

The forensic toxicology report will be a central piece of evidence for the ongoing procedure and may determine whether criminal charges will be pressed under Article 233 of the Criminal Code.

On social media, Kliment Arnaudov posted that the dogs died “within ten minutes, in severe suffering” and expressed his suspicion that a highly toxic poison had been used. The toxicology results will be needed to confirm the cause of death.

Authorities say the case remains under investigation while they await the laboratory findings from Skopje.

Photo: SD.MK)