Thanks to the high-profile initiative of content creator Nathan Goldblat, the killing of stray dogs in Romania has attracted a great deal of attention on social media in recent weeks. A TV documentary will follow. However, the issue in question is by no means new. The German Animal Welfare Federation, together with its member association Tierhilfe Hoffnung, has been campaigning tirelessly against the killing of dogs in Romania for ten years.
“The cruel and senseless killing of stray dogs in Romania must come to an end,” demands Jürgen Plinz, member of the executive committee of the German Animal Welfare Federation and board member of the European animal welfare umbrella organization Eurogroup for Animals. The suspicion, which is also repeatedly discussed among experts, that the killing of dogs in Romania is also financed by EU tax money has so far neither been confirmed nor dispelled beyond doubt.
"Even if the EU assures that it does not directly finance killing stations, it remains responsible. If it turns out that Romania is indeed misusing EU subsidies for the economy, tourism, or rabies prevention to finance trapping services or killing stations, the EU must stop these funds until Romania has created transparency,“ Plinz demands. ”European citizens' tax money must not flow directly or indirectly into such cruel practices. "
NEUTERING AS THE KEY TO POPULATION MANAGEMENT
After many years of political engagement, the German Animal Welfare Federation and Tierhilfe Hoffnung launched a model project in the Romanian district of Argeș in 2024, which demonstrates a proven and animal-friendly alternative to killing. With currently up to 40,000 castrations per year, the involvement of the population, and the support of national and local veterinary authorities, the project is on a promising path. “Neutering is the key to combating the suffering and death of stray dogs. In the best-case scenario, we will eventually succeed in converting the more than 140 killing stations in Romania into neutering centers,” says Matthias Schmidt, chairman of Tierhilfe Hoffnung. The association operates the world's largest animal shelter in Romania, which currently houses around 6,000 dogs: the Smeura.
Note to editors:
In a protest organized by content creator Nathan Goldblat against the killing of dogs in Romania, the German Animal Welfare Federation and Tierhilfe Hoffnung, along with other animal welfare organizations and animal rights activists, are demonstrating today in front of the EU Parliament in Brussels. At a subsequent press conference, Matthias Schmidt, chairman of Tierhilfe Hoffnung, will be among those on the podium to report on the joint model project with the German Animal Welfare Federation.
