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Mon, May 20 2013
War of words over Sofia’s stray dogs
Photo: Georgi Kozhouharov
Teams from the Sofia municipal firm in charge of dealing with street dogs try to catch strays in the Bulgarian capital city’s Malinova Dolina neighbourhood but residents prevent them, a city councillor for ruling party GERB said on April 2 2012.
The problem of the city’s estimated more than 10 000 street dogs returned to the headlines after a large pack of strays savaged an elderly man in recent days. The man, in his 80s, has undergone a series of operations to deal with his severe injuries.
Sofia mayor Yordanka Fandukova, ahead of her re-election in 2011, included among her campaign promises a pledge to halve the number of the city’s street dogs.
Amid controversy after the Malinova Dolina attack, city authorities also have sought to shift at least part of the blame to environmental organisations that, they say, have been frustrating efforts to round up strays.
Lorita Radeva, a city councillor for ruling party GERB, said that the majority party intended legislating fines for people who feed street dogs.
Aksinia Bosneva, a member of an environmental organisation, said on bTV that she fed about 10 dogs near her apartment building. "I feed them, have them vaccinated and de-wormed." She did so, she said, "to help not to make Sofia a gladiatorial arena where hungry animals attack humans".
Angel Dzhambazki, a councillor for minority party VMRO, said that stray dogs should be euthanised.
"There can be no law that gives comfort to dogs at the expense of people," said Dzhambazki, adding that municipal policy in Sofia on street dogs "has been a failure for years".
The work of the municipal company meant to deal with strays was a total failure and councillors had been waiting for a year and a half to see its latest report, he said.
He said that the same political party, GERB, was in charge of national government and the municipality of Sofia and had been so for three years. "If a change to the law was needed, there has been time for this to be made."
Speaking on April 2 2012 on public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television, Maria Boyadzhiiska, the deputy mayor in charge of environmental matters, said that she was ready to resign if she was personally culpable for the man in Malinova Dolina having been attacked by the pack of street dogs.
She said that the municipality had taken every step possible but the stray dog reduction programme had been "compromised" by environmental organisations.
The problem of the city’s estimated more than 10 000 street dogs returned to the headlines after a large pack of strays savaged an elderly man in recent days. The man, in his 80s, has undergone a series of operations to deal with his severe injuries.
Sofia mayor Yordanka Fandukova, ahead of her re-election in 2011, included among her campaign promises a pledge to halve the number of the city’s street dogs.
Amid controversy after the Malinova Dolina attack, city authorities also have sought to shift at least part of the blame to environmental organisations that, they say, have been frustrating efforts to round up strays.
Lorita Radeva, a city councillor for ruling party GERB, said that the majority party intended legislating fines for people who feed street dogs.
Aksinia Bosneva, a member of an environmental organisation, said on bTV that she fed about 10 dogs near her apartment building. "I feed them, have them vaccinated and de-wormed." She did so, she said, "to help not to make Sofia a gladiatorial arena where hungry animals attack humans".
Angel Dzhambazki, a councillor for minority party VMRO, said that stray dogs should be euthanised.
"There can be no law that gives comfort to dogs at the expense of people," said Dzhambazki, adding that municipal policy in Sofia on street dogs "has been a failure for years".
The work of the municipal company meant to deal with strays was a total failure and councillors had been waiting for a year and a half to see its latest report, he said.
He said that the same political party, GERB, was in charge of national government and the municipality of Sofia and had been so for three years. "If a change to the law was needed, there has been time for this to be made."
Speaking on April 2 2012 on public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television, Maria Boyadzhiiska, the deputy mayor in charge of environmental matters, said that she was ready to resign if she was personally culpable for the man in Malinova Dolina having been attacked by the pack of street dogs.
She said that the municipality had taken every step possible but the stray dog reduction programme had been "compromised" by environmental organisations.
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Sofia mayor declines to accept deputy’s resignation over street dogs issue
Deputy mayor Maria Boyadzhiyska tendered her resignation on April 9, a day after the death of Botyo Tachkov, who had been attacked by a large pack of strays.
Bulgarian man wounds neighbour while shooting at street dogs
Vidin man opened up on street dogs with a 12 bore shotgun and a hunting rifle, but hit his neighbour in the stomach. Meanwhile, group of NGOs dealing with animal issues call for resignation of Agriculture Minister over street dog issue.
Sofia municipality to hold tender for temporary shelter for stray dogs
Step comes a day after the elderly man attacked by a pack of street dogs in a Sofia residential area dies of his injuries.
Stray cats, not dogs, prowl the streets of Plovdiv
It is now estimated that Plovdiv has at least 8000 stray cats on its streets. The number of stray dogs is significantly lower; at the last count, in 2009, there were only 700 of them in the city.
Bulgarian PM Borissov intervenes in stray dog problem
All the dogs that bit people last year were returned to the streets, report says, while Sofia mayor Fandukova says that the goal of reducing stray dogs by 95 per cent by 2016 is realistic.
Court awards compensation to Bulgarian woman attacked by street dogs
Woman (54) awarded 4000 leva after court finds municipality failed to exercise proper control over stray dogs.
Pack of dogs that savaged elderly man in Sofia to be put down
Residents of the neighbourhood where the attack took place estimate there are 37 dogs in the pack. A day earlier, authorities said that the most recent count found that there are more than 9000 stray dogs in the Bulgarian capital city.
Elderly man in critical condition after attack by pack of stray dogs in Sofia
Doctors reported to be struggling to save the life of the man (87) who was set on by about 15 to 20 street dogs.
Sofia to seek contractor to neuter street dogs
A new census of stray dogs in Bulgaria’s capital city is to be carried out by the end of March 2012.
Sofia named ‘most livable city in Bulgaria’ in annual contest
Bulgaria’s capital beat 27 cities to take the 2011 award.
First and second
Seemingly set for a second term, Sofia’s mayor faces questions about the city’s serious problems.
Stray dogs shot dead in Sofia borough
Stray dogs have been shot dead in Bozhourishte, a borough in northwestern Sofia.
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The Sofia Echo
The solution has been known since 1966 ...EDUCATE the people to sterilise, register, do not dump and keep well for life their dogs 2. STERILISE the owned and street dogs 3. PROSECUTE dumping and abuse. KILLING DOES NOT WORK as 2 dogs can breed another 12000 within 5 years and apart from making Bulgarians look like barbaric morons (strays are a human made problem )....it is a waste of money and effort as the tamer, vaccinated sterilised dogs are the first to be murdered. There are plently of NGOs worldwide that Bulgaria needs to learn from and sustainably solve these [...]
Read the full comment problems for people and dogs.
I've been to Sofia twice to advice the Ministry of Agriculture and Sofia Municipality on the stray dog issue after writing a report on the ineffective and corrupt practice of Ecobalance. Sofia Municipality wasted over 4 million Euro's on Ecobalance. It is insane to accuse NGO’s of the failure of Ecobalance. Ecobalance was a corrupt, ineffective, money wasting, bureaucratic organizations for many years and I guess it still is. The NGO’s in Bulgaria will make the change. Animal Rescue Sofia for instance, is an NGO with highly educated intelligent people working together with foreign advisors and with foreign veterinary teams. [...]
Read the full comment They visit conferences on Dog Population Management. They initiate education programs and PR campaigns to raise awareness among Sofia citizens. But they are being obstructed by Sofia Municipality and Ecobalance. The existing stray dog problem in Sofia is caused by the lack of proper Governmental support to contribute to an effective strategy in tackling the problem.
A historical perspective behind all "controversy" shows that key players - both city hall and quasi-non-governmental sector - have a common interest, namely maintaining the dog farm already established in Sofia as unwanted dog population may be available on the street or may be quickly dumped in newly opened shelters. This interest is served quietly by the Sofia animal shelter system that follows for decades a plain policy of routine collecting and unreported disposition of tens of thousands roaming animals, lost included. Once a dog is being seized by the shady partners of the animal shelter system - the illegal [...]
Read the full comment dog dealers - we just could imagine what happen to him. From skinning his/her for its fur and using the rest of carcass in the animal food industry to caging him/her in a research facility; and using as a bait-dog in the dog fighting network protected by government. I am speaking out on this unusual industry in last decade, but both city hall representatives and their close animal advocates always is pushing different "issues" as the current "dilemma". We must see the lack of special legislation regarding animal shelter accountability as the crucial factor in failing to curb the local dog population dynamics. Similar legislative changes were proposed by Animal Programs Foundation, but the PM Bojko Borisov did not reply.
The animal problem is not confined to Sofia it would appear to be a national problem and concerns both cats and dogs. I asked a vet in Varna to put some feral kittens down, his response was that he would neuter them and then released them back on the streets presumably to die either through hunger and the weather or being killed by passing traffic. It is in my opinion far kinder to ensure that all stray animals are put down in a painless manner
I agree. Typically Bulgarian in that it is "someone elses fault". The BG government have been told repeatedly by foreign experts how to solve the situation. But this involves spending money to which the government refuses to do. Instead it wastes €1 Billion paying Russia for a power station that is not going to be built. THERE IS a solution for the stray dog problem which does not involve mass slaughter, but the government needs to A: admit it and B: spend the money......
What a load of nonsense! I reported a pack of aggressive dogs to the council 2 weeks ago and they did nothing. This has nothing to do with environmental groups. Their response was that I should take a photo of the dog and wait with the dog until someone came. How stupid is that? Aggressive dogs must be taken of the streets. Plain & simple.
And the mayor appears to be suggesting that people should not feed street dogs. Brilliant!! Much better to have starving dogs roaming the streets...... I despair! It's always someone else's fault..... [...]
Read the full comment