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Sat, May 26 2012
Bark and bite
Photo: Nikolai Doichinov
The three-year grace period for Bulgarian municipalities to deal with the problem of stray dogs is coming to an end with only a few of the country’s larger local authorities having achieved anything.
Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naidenov, speaking on Pro.Bg television on April 7, said that mayors had been given three years to come up with their own programmes to deal with the ever-worsening problem of stray dogs, but little had been done.
During this grace period, which ends in 2010, mayors were asked to put forward not just a strategy for coping with the issue but also to open castration centres or dispensaries.
"What emerged is that, with the exception of some of the big municipalities, most others have no programme for dealing with the problem of stray dogs, neither do they have castration centres, nor, in fact, are they doing anything at all," Naidenov told Pro.Bg.
Because of the lack of progress, Naidenov has ordered checks that will evaluate each mayor’s progress in launching and running programmes to reduce the number of stray dogs on the streets.
By the end of 2010, these programmes and the subsequent shelters and castration centres should have been up and running and producing results.
Under the Animal Protection Act, which came into effect on January 31 2008, by 2011 there should be no stray dogs left, and any municipality that still has stray dogs after that date would risk being fined, Naidenov said.
He said that time had been lost, and as the months passed, dogs had kept on breeding, with new generations migrating from smaller settlements to cities nearby where food was easier to get.
In turn, this meant that if smaller municipalities did not take steps against the stray dog problem, any achievements by larger cities would come to nothing as dogs migrated there.
Of the four large cities, Sofia has been sharply criticised for failing against the street dog problem, with regular media reports of vicious packs of stray dogs attacking pedestrians.
Naidenov has a lot of experience dealing with the issue, given that he used to head Sofia’s Ekoravnovesie company, which deals with stray dogs. He had this position for three years before becoming Agriculture Minister in August 2009. When The Sofia Echo interviewed Naidenov in 2006 about his plans to reduce the number of stray dogs, he said that all dogs would be castrated, vaccinated, marked and registered and returned to their original place of capture.
"Killing dogs is the very last solution and it will be applied only to dogs who are beyond healing, too aggressive or too old to survive on the streets," Naidenov said in 2006 when Sofia had just one facility for stray dogs, the pound in Seslavtsi village.
Three years later, in January 2009, Naidenov said that Sofia city hall would build one or two shelters (in addition to the one at Seslavtsi) by the end of 2009, which would allow a gradual withdrawal of the animals from the streets until, by 2011, they were entirely "cleaned up". This means that in terms of municipal facilities, the situation in Sofia had not changed for the past three years.
Still, Naidenov said that the stray dog population in Sofia was under control with no possible increase of the numbers and that with the additional shelters built, the Sofia streets would be cleared of stray dogs by 2011. Now, a year later, Naidenov has identified small municipalities as the main reason why big cities such as Sofia cannot handle the stray dog problem.
Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naidenov, speaking on Pro.Bg television on April 7, said that mayors had been given three years to come up with their own programmes to deal with the ever-worsening problem of stray dogs, but little had been done.
During this grace period, which ends in 2010, mayors were asked to put forward not just a strategy for coping with the issue but also to open castration centres or dispensaries.
"What emerged is that, with the exception of some of the big municipalities, most others have no programme for dealing with the problem of stray dogs, neither do they have castration centres, nor, in fact, are they doing anything at all," Naidenov told Pro.Bg.
Because of the lack of progress, Naidenov has ordered checks that will evaluate each mayor’s progress in launching and running programmes to reduce the number of stray dogs on the streets.
By the end of 2010, these programmes and the subsequent shelters and castration centres should have been up and running and producing results.
Under the Animal Protection Act, which came into effect on January 31 2008, by 2011 there should be no stray dogs left, and any municipality that still has stray dogs after that date would risk being fined, Naidenov said.
He said that time had been lost, and as the months passed, dogs had kept on breeding, with new generations migrating from smaller settlements to cities nearby where food was easier to get.
In turn, this meant that if smaller municipalities did not take steps against the stray dog problem, any achievements by larger cities would come to nothing as dogs migrated there.
Of the four large cities, Sofia has been sharply criticised for failing against the street dog problem, with regular media reports of vicious packs of stray dogs attacking pedestrians.
Naidenov has a lot of experience dealing with the issue, given that he used to head Sofia’s Ekoravnovesie company, which deals with stray dogs. He had this position for three years before becoming Agriculture Minister in August 2009. When The Sofia Echo interviewed Naidenov in 2006 about his plans to reduce the number of stray dogs, he said that all dogs would be castrated, vaccinated, marked and registered and returned to their original place of capture.
"Killing dogs is the very last solution and it will be applied only to dogs who are beyond healing, too aggressive or too old to survive on the streets," Naidenov said in 2006 when Sofia had just one facility for stray dogs, the pound in Seslavtsi village.
Three years later, in January 2009, Naidenov said that Sofia city hall would build one or two shelters (in addition to the one at Seslavtsi) by the end of 2009, which would allow a gradual withdrawal of the animals from the streets until, by 2011, they were entirely "cleaned up". This means that in terms of municipal facilities, the situation in Sofia had not changed for the past three years.
Still, Naidenov said that the stray dog population in Sofia was under control with no possible increase of the numbers and that with the additional shelters built, the Sofia streets would be cleared of stray dogs by 2011. Now, a year later, Naidenov has identified small municipalities as the main reason why big cities such as Sofia cannot handle the stray dog problem.
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The Sofia Echo
The problem of roaming street dog's in Bansko is getting worse as there are now puppies around so obviously the neutering programme needs to be restarted.
Yep! Sit and watch...and wait for someone else to do something?
working together is something they haven't heard of in BG, here it's all for one and f*ck the rest.
So Dianne you sat and watched.
(Oh you sadist)
"There is a massive industry based on the systematic killing of dogs. There are dog fur factories all over Bulgaria, and they produce all sorts of items, like fur coats, leather shoes and bags made from dogs and so on," the Sunday Telegraph quoted Jordanka Tcacheva of Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Animals.
*
"The so-called fur lords who run the factories are farming the dogs on the street without having to pay any support. They don't have to feed or house them or anything except round them up and then skin them," Rumi Becker [...]
Read the full comment of Doctors for Animals told the Sunday Telegraph.
I agree with mbk regarding Mr. Kuzmanov's comments.
There are many non-profits here in Bulgaria and also non-profits from other EU countries here in BG who are trying to implement spay/neuter programs. What would be more effective I think is to get the municipalities and these non-profits to work in tandem to conduct a large scale spay/neuter campaign. Honestly, I am not sure either can do it alone. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem as though the municipalities have been very receptive thus far. Why? I have no idea.
But I think that it's [...]
Read the full comment also up to individuals to do something which is free and costs the government nothing....do not let your dog breed. There are already too many dogs. If you aren't totally sure you want the lifelong commitment and expenses of a pet, don't get one only later to discard it. Perhaps rather than buying an expensive "purebred" dog, adopt a homeless dog. By the way, this is the same advice I would give to my own countrymen.
I especially agree with Mr. Kuzmanov's statement that creating more shelters will not reduce the animal population.
@ Dianne Who the F do you think you are criticizing everybody else with ideas that might actually work? It's too late to teach parents since they absolutely have NO respect for nature with everything in it. When do you get it that nobody WANTS to change and will keep on blaming everything on the past. You still don't realize Bulgarians rather wait for something to happen by itself instead of actually doing something to make even the smallest change. Maybe you should stick a sock in it Dianne before writing all the good advices as you do.
Sophia is a girl's name..sofia is the capital of BG...Cosmos learn this you imbecile
I want to thank Emil Kuzmanov who seems to be one of the few unbiased and educated people who regularly contribute on this issue. He has commented several times that there are lies and smokescreens here at the municipal level and beyond. Thank you sir, for calling what it is.
How can anyone respect a country that cannot even keep itself free of stray dogs? BG does nor deserve independence.
Bulgaria: Please decide which country you will choose to administer yourself, because you have already proven that you cannot rule yourselves properly.
Najdenov just lie! Five years after entry into force of the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, Bulgaria did not take the basic measures provided to reduce illegal dog breeding.
Article 8 – Trading, commercial breeding and boarding, animal sanctuaries - was totally broken.
Article 12 (v) read: "reducing the unplanned breeding of dogs and cats by promoting the neutering of these animals". But it was broken.
Article 14 – Information and education programmes - also was totally broken.
All that means [...]
Read the full comment total lack of animal birth control (ABC). In fact, enhancing shelter capacity is not the adequate measure against dog over reproduction.
Solution is there, TNR, we just have to get the municipalities to adopt this and start. This is successful in numerous western countries, including Turkey where most cities now have the problem under control. The other thing is to educate children, I sat and watched yesterday as two children found it fun to throw stones at cows and beat a puppy with a stick. Finally, uneducated unintelligent heathens like Peter and Cosmos need to be educated too !!
Hear we go again just talk and nothing is done I agree with Peter 100 per cent. We need a major cull before another child is bitten I am not in BG at the moment but when I am the all night barking drives me mad,Varna is just as bad as Sophia,when is the goverment going to do something.
Again the blame is out on someone else and nothing is being done. Start at the beginning and put chips in all animals sold and register them so owners can be fined and held responsible when they don't take care of their animals, Me personally am loosing a lot of sleep because of barking dogs all night, something that is getting worse by the week. What is the use of making plans that will never be executed? Kill all strays and punish owners that don't know how to treat their animals! Once municipalities start to chip and register dogs sold [...]
Read the full comment they will see there are a lot more dog owners as mentioned in the article few weeks ago about people having to pay taxes for the dogs they own. Is it really so difficult to make a law and live by that law? Hire officers that check dog owners and they will earn their own salaries and make the municipality money!