No other European country struggles with as many homeless dogs as Romania does: about 600,000 dogs are roaming the streets as well as thousands of cats.
Every year, thousands of stray dogs are caught by dog-catchers and taken to city shelters or killing stations – all legal under Romanian law. Every single one of these dogs is suffering each and every day.
City shelters and killing stations often don’t provide appropriate food, sufficient space, and protection from the cold. The majority of animals remain unneutered, which means they will keep reproducing in the shelter. Almost all the dogs suffer from serious skin conditions and untreated wounds, as veterinary treatment is rare and in most cases non-existent. Most animals die from a lack of proper nourishment or in other agonising ways.
Although neutering and registering dogs and cats who leave the property of the owner has been mandatory in Romania since 2013, it’s exactly these animal companions who continue to pose animal-welfare challenges in the country.
Because almost all dogs who have guardians aren’t neutered.
But as these animals are often kept chained and unsupervised outdoors, they freely reproduce with homeless dogs, which means that more and more puppies are born into a world that does not want them. Many puppies are abandoned, thereby forming a new generation of homeless animals.
PETA Germany decided to step in, along with our Romanian partner EDUXANIMA, to help dogs in Romania and reduce their suffering in a sustainable manner.
By introducing mobile neuter clinics which stop in each location for several weeks, we’ll be able to neuter and register about 4,000 animals each year. This method also allows us to reach very rural and poor areas. Both dogs with guardians and homeless dogs are neutered, registered, and treated free of charge. Dogs with guardians will be given long leashes instead of chains and new dog houses to make their lives more comfortable.
Children as the Compassionate Citizens of the Future
Another important aspect of this project is the animal-welfare classes in Romanian schools supported by PETAkids‘ educational material. They help children and teenagers learn about the importance of compassion and empathy towards all living beings – because only a generation of young people aware of animal rights and compassionate in their daily lives can change the situation for animals in the long term.
We’re also working closely with local mayors and other politicians to try to establish this important project in even more places in Romania, to raise awareness about the laws on neutering and registration, and to ensure their implementation to sustainably improve the lives of animals.
What you can do
Please support this crucial project and sign our petition to Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, calling for an immediate end to the killing of dogs and for the implementation of large-scale neuter programmes.
Please also send us an urgently needed donation to help us extend our neuter project in Romania even further.