A Montenegrin animal rights activist faces jail as she has no money to pay a fine for feeding the stray dogs she has been taking care of over the past 20 years.

A court found Indira Lajko guilty for putting out bowls of dog food and water on the streets and outside houses in Pljevlja, northern Montenegro.

The court ordered her to pay a 150-euro ($169) fine, which equals 40 percent of her salary.

Under the ruling, she will go to jail on December 29 if the fine is not paid.

“I have no money to pay the fine,” Lajko, a hospital midwife, told AFP on Friday. “Half of my salary goes for loans taken to pay various fines to local courts for my care of stray dogs.”

The 60-year-old woman said she has been leading a legal battle with local authorities over protection of animals for the past decade.

“Sometimes I’m hungry but my hunting dog Srecko always has meat and abandoned animal food,” Lajko said.

Lajko founded Right to Life animal rights group and an animal asylum in Pljevlja.

Last year she was proclaimed one of the best midwives in the tiny Balkan country.
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