The condition of stray animals in Romania

Animal overpopulation started with Nicolae Ceausescu’s dictatorship. The poverty generated by this regime, combined with numerous expropriations, forced thousands of pet owners to abandon their companions. Thus, the abandoned dogs bred freely in the streets.

Aiming to limit stray dogs’ proliferation, Romanian authorities chose a cruel and inefficient solution : eradication.

Exterminate stray animals is inefficient because:
  it does not fight the root of animal overpopulation (abandonments, trade, etc.)
  it has been proved that in such situation animals biologically fill in the loss (they give birth to larger litters).

Besides, the brutal decrease of the number of stray dogs generates proliferation of other species (cats, rats, etc.). It is the case in Bucharest, where the number of stray cats considerably increased since the massive elimination of stray dogs.

Numerous Romanian and international animal welfare socities tried to stop this slaughter and encouraged the implementation of a humane and efficient management of animals overpopulation.

From 1997, large scale CNR programs were implemented in Bucharest by animal welfare groups such as Brigitte Bardot Foundation and Vier Pfoten.

Unfortunately, in April 2001, the mayor of Bucharest Traian Basescu decided to end these campaigns and to start again the slaughter. Thousands of dogs were killed in a few days. The mayor even proposed a bonus to the catchers based on the number of dogs caught. Thus, he triggered a deadly frenzy of which owned dogs were also victims.

A law recently legalized the elimination of stray dogs, since it authorizes municipalities to practice euthanasia after a retention of 14 days. Actually, this law is not respected since the dogs are frequently killed in the open streets. They are poisoned, shot, strangled, or beaten to death.

As for captured dogs, many photos, videos and testimonies showed and described the violence that they are victim of during the capture and during their retention. They are packed without food or water, before being killed by different means, often illegal (injection of illegal toxic substances, gas, etc.)

A few municipalities (such as Galatzi, Busteni or Constanta) tolerate the presence of stray dogs and implemented Catch-Neuter-Release programs, in collaboration with some associations.

Unfortunately, even sterilized and vaccinated stray dogs are frequently killed.