On a street in Kozle, Skopje, a young wolf was recently found - with a chain around its neck, tied to a post. The case has opened a public debate about keeping wild animals in urban conditions. Police are searching for the person who was keeping it. And for now, the question has not received a serious answer: how did a wolf end up in a city yard, and who thought that was fine?

The chief inspector for nature protection at the State Environmental Inspectorate, Pejo Kirovski, laid out the legal framework: keeping wild animals without a permit in Macedonia is banned under the Law on Nature Protection (article 32). The fines are serious.

For legal entities keeping domestic or foreign wild species without a permit - 3,000 euros. For dangerous and exotic species that pose a risk to humans - between 8,000 and 20,000 euros. For individuals - up to 800 euros.

To keep a wild animal legally, you need documentation of legal origin, suitable space, veterinary supervision, and for protected species - compliance with the CITES convention. Permits are issued by the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, in cooperation with the Food and Veterinary Agency, which checks that minimum conditions for the animal's life are in place.

The problem is that Macedonia has no specialised facility for receiving confiscated or found wild animals. The wolf from Kozle is currently in quarantine at the Skopje Zoo, under analysis. But what happens next - is not clear. The zoo is not a rehabilitation centre. A programme for returning wild animals to the wild does not exist. The alternative - preventing repeat cases - boils down to fines.

And fines, as usual, assume someone will be caught. How many cases of wild animals kept in private homes go unnoticed? How many parrots, eagles, bear cubs, turtles move through illegal sales channels and end up in yards or apartments without anyone noticing? The system only kicks in when the case spills onto the street. Until then - the wild animals pay for the human collector's urge.