Bulgaria's Borissov frustrates pet control
by Emil Kuzmanov
(This article was first published in Sofia Echo, 10 September 2007)
Despite Veterinary Act provisions, the system of dog registration in Sofia, under the control of the municipality, has been totally frustrated. Organised saving and returning of lost animals, reliable sheltering and rehoming of abandoned and "second-hand" pets, and early-age sterilisation of owned animals, are completely unknown. The usual practice includes free amateur breeding, uncontrolled trade in pups and a massive supply of secondhands. There is no data on the number of kept and neighbourhood dogs, and no official information on the movement of abandoned and lost animals. In this situation they are all in danger.
Nowadays in Sofia there are at least 30 000 owners of fertile bitches which are potential, unregistered breeders. Every year the better part of them are producing puppies, owing to the strange philosophy that every female "must give birth". The dog population is increasing, immensely and unchecked.
During the rule of mayor Stefan Sofianski (1995-2005) the reported number of legally killed animals was about 10 000 a year. During this period, the official policy of the municipality was limited to partial collection of stray dogs and their euthanasia.
On December 18 2005, The Sunday Telegraph reported about the supply in London of cheap coats, imported from Bulgaria as "Korean wolf", but obviously made from furs of bigger dogs like German shepherds or golden retrievers - the most popular breeds.
In fact, only a small amount of dogs, mostly of unknown origin, go to the shelters. While the re-homing of grown-up pets is totally disregarded, a portion of well-kept and bred dogs are passed from owner to owner till, in their prime, the dogs peculiarly somehow vanish.
Boiko Borissov, the incumbent mayor of Sofia, is a very popular and ambitious politician. But despite our attempts to contact him, and our proposals during the past two years, he has refused to discuss the most serious topics in this area, including the improvement of services, promoting pet sterilisation and rehoming, and registration of neighbourhood dogs.
Incredible as it may sound, in the past decade popular animal protection organisations have infiltrated Bulgarian society with the false concept of "No-Kill policy", based not on the restriction of pet breeding and movement, but mostly on substituting euthanasia with sterilisation of unwanted animals.
In his election campaign in 2005, Mr Borissov made unrealistic promises to discontinue euthanasia, sterilisation of "all" stray dogs and their adoption.
He was the first politician to proclaim such intentions. Mayor Sofianski had played the role of the "bad guy" for 10 years, and mayor Borissov took the role of the "good guy".
Publicly encouraged by the No-Kills, Mr Borissov has said on several occasions that there is an accepted new municipal policy to "decrease" overpopulation - by sterilisation and release of unwanted dogs. On July 13 2007, Bulgarian media quoted the mayor's claims: "According to the most recent survey, the number of stray dogs has fallen to almost 11 000. In early 2006, their number was 20 000. The steep drop is the result of sterilisation of strays. In this way, after another two years, there wil be about 2000 animals remaining in the streets".
On March 13 2007, Miroslav Naidenov, director of the Municipal Enterprise Ecobalance (Ekoravnovesie), send us a letter with official data concerning their activity during the period between September 2006 and February 2007: 2100 dogs captured, 2040 of these sterilised and returned to the streets, and about 60 killed.
Despite the new circumstances, the situation in Sofia remains the same as during the Sofianski era. Even after January 1 2007, when Bulgaia became a member of the EU, the movement of tens of thousands of animals in Sofia continues to be unrestricted and the population remained extremely unstable. New dogs continue to appear in the streets again and again. At the same time we have witnesed many cases of disappearance of stray, lost and second-hand animals. The set-up keeps the door wide open to possibilities of illicit farming of strays.
During 2006, two bills were drafted for the Animal Protection Act. The peculiarity of both drafts is the prohibition to kill healthy cats and dogs as a form to control population numbers. But at the same time there were no adequate measures provided to curb mass pet breeding, movement and population shift, i.e, No-Kill solutions.
Borissov was an active supporter of one of the Animal Protection drafts. On January 2 2007, Animal Programs sent EU institutions a letter on the shortcomings in both drafts. As a result, on January 10 2007, the EU Parliamentary Intergroup for the Welfare of Animals sent six identical letters to leading Bulgarian institutions involved in improving and enforcing the Law. One of the letters was addressed to Mr Borissov. The Intergroup highlighted the need for a way to guarantee humane pet control to be proposed. There was no reply to the letter.
On the contrary, on January 13 2007 the mayor became patron of "Zoo-Expo". The No-Kills set up in Sofia a one-day campaign to support the uncompleted Animal Protection draft; and for the random adoption of dogs and cats by people. Most of the animals included were young and non-sterilised strays. On February 14 2007, the above-mentioned draft was introduced to the Bulgarian Parliament. We can see the intentions of Boiko Borissov to provide an ineffective Animal Protection Act, which will preserve the already existing population shift. On top of all that, the so well-played scheme of "Grooming and Collecting" unwanted animals from Sofia's streets without fear of reprisal can spread throughout the country.
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by Emil Kuzmanov
(This article was first published in Sofia Echo, 10 September 2007)
Despite Veterinary Act provisions, the system of dog registration in Sofia, under the control of the municipality, has been totally frustrated. Organised saving and returning of lost animals, reliable sheltering and rehoming of abandoned and "second-hand" pets, and early-age sterilisation of owned animals, are completely unknown. The usual practice includes free amateur breeding, uncontrolled trade in pups and a massive supply of secondhands. There is no data on the number of kept and neighbourhood dogs, and no official information on the movement of abandoned and lost animals. In this situation they are all in danger.
Nowadays in Sofia there are at least 30 000 owners of fertile bitches which are potential, unregistered breeders. Every year the better part of them are producing puppies, owing to the strange philosophy that every female "must give birth". The dog population is increasing, immensely and unchecked.
During the rule of mayor Stefan Sofianski (1995-2005) the reported number of legally killed animals was about 10 000 a year. During this period, the official policy of the municipality was limited to partial collection of stray dogs and their euthanasia.
On December 18 2005, The Sunday Telegraph reported about the supply in London of cheap coats, imported from Bulgaria as "Korean wolf", but obviously made from furs of bigger dogs like German shepherds or golden retrievers - the most popular breeds.
In fact, only a small amount of dogs, mostly of unknown origin, go to the shelters. While the re-homing of grown-up pets is totally disregarded, a portion of well-kept and bred dogs are passed from owner to owner till, in their prime, the dogs peculiarly somehow vanish.
Boiko Borissov, the incumbent mayor of Sofia, is a very popular and ambitious politician. But despite our attempts to contact him, and our proposals during the past two years, he has refused to discuss the most serious topics in this area, including the improvement of services, promoting pet sterilisation and rehoming, and registration of neighbourhood dogs.
Incredible as it may sound, in the past decade popular animal protection organisations have infiltrated Bulgarian society with the false concept of "No-Kill policy", based not on the restriction of pet breeding and movement, but mostly on substituting euthanasia with sterilisation of unwanted animals.
In his election campaign in 2005, Mr Borissov made unrealistic promises to discontinue euthanasia, sterilisation of "all" stray dogs and their adoption.
He was the first politician to proclaim such intentions. Mayor Sofianski had played the role of the "bad guy" for 10 years, and mayor Borissov took the role of the "good guy".
Publicly encouraged by the No-Kills, Mr Borissov has said on several occasions that there is an accepted new municipal policy to "decrease" overpopulation - by sterilisation and release of unwanted dogs. On July 13 2007, Bulgarian media quoted the mayor's claims: "According to the most recent survey, the number of stray dogs has fallen to almost 11 000. In early 2006, their number was 20 000. The steep drop is the result of sterilisation of strays. In this way, after another two years, there wil be about 2000 animals remaining in the streets".
On March 13 2007, Miroslav Naidenov, director of the Municipal Enterprise Ecobalance (Ekoravnovesie), send us a letter with official data concerning their activity during the period between September 2006 and February 2007: 2100 dogs captured, 2040 of these sterilised and returned to the streets, and about 60 killed.
Despite the new circumstances, the situation in Sofia remains the same as during the Sofianski era. Even after January 1 2007, when Bulgaia became a member of the EU, the movement of tens of thousands of animals in Sofia continues to be unrestricted and the population remained extremely unstable. New dogs continue to appear in the streets again and again. At the same time we have witnesed many cases of disappearance of stray, lost and second-hand animals. The set-up keeps the door wide open to possibilities of illicit farming of strays.
During 2006, two bills were drafted for the Animal Protection Act. The peculiarity of both drafts is the prohibition to kill healthy cats and dogs as a form to control population numbers. But at the same time there were no adequate measures provided to curb mass pet breeding, movement and population shift, i.e, No-Kill solutions.
Borissov was an active supporter of one of the Animal Protection drafts. On January 2 2007, Animal Programs sent EU institutions a letter on the shortcomings in both drafts. As a result, on January 10 2007, the EU Parliamentary Intergroup for the Welfare of Animals sent six identical letters to leading Bulgarian institutions involved in improving and enforcing the Law. One of the letters was addressed to Mr Borissov. The Intergroup highlighted the need for a way to guarantee humane pet control to be proposed. There was no reply to the letter.
On the contrary, on January 13 2007 the mayor became patron of "Zoo-Expo". The No-Kills set up in Sofia a one-day campaign to support the uncompleted Animal Protection draft; and for the random adoption of dogs and cats by people. Most of the animals included were young and non-sterilised strays. On February 14 2007, the above-mentioned draft was introduced to the Bulgarian Parliament. We can see the intentions of Boiko Borissov to provide an ineffective Animal Protection Act, which will preserve the already existing population shift. On top of all that, the so well-played scheme of "Grooming and Collecting" unwanted animals from Sofia's streets without fear of reprisal can spread throughout the country.
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