Stray dogs terrorize streets of Bulgaria

April 16, 2012 – BULGARIA – Sprawling in the sun or barking and chasing cars, stray dogs have become part of urban life in Bulgaria but after a pack mauled a US university professor to death, the mood of tolerance is over. The 87-year-old man, who chose to spend his retirement in his native Bulgaria, was attacked in a Sofia street late last month by some 25 dogs who knocked him to the ground, tore at his face and bit his legs and arms to the bone. He died in intensive care 10 days later, prompting the government to suggest a large-scale euthanasia program for aggressive animals and construction of emergency shelters to remove other strays from the street. Rights groups struck back, accusing authorities of weak control over pet owners who do not register their animals and often abandon them or their litters on the streets. “This spring there are about 1,000 more stray dogs than last year,” said Aksinia Bosneva of the “Care For the Stray Dogs” non-governmental animal rights group. She also blamed corrupt practices when it comes to castrating dogs. “Some dogs are only partially neutered so that castration squads can return and get double money. Dogs already neutered are captured twice and workers get paid for something already done,’ Bosneva charged. For Lolita Radeva, head of the Sofia municipal council’s environmental committee, the economic crisis has made things worse. “The current economic crisis has forced people to increasingly abandon their pets. Many dogs were also let go from abandoned construction yards they used to guard,” Radeva said. She put the total number of stray dogs roaming the capital, which counts two million people, at about 9,500. A new city hall program aims to halve this number within two years and get rid of all the animals by 2016. Current legislation only allows authorities to put down sick and aggressive animals, while others must be neutered and returned to the streets. –Yahoo News

contribution by Elizabeth