Harsh living conditions and kill sheltersThe suffering of ownerless dogs in Romania
Hundreds of thousands1 of free-roaming dogs live on the streets of Romania. The animals reproduce uncontrollably. Countless private individuals also play their part by letting their unneutered dogs roam freely. Together with the Tierhilfe Hoffnung, we have established a groundbreaking/pioneering pilot project in 2024 to break the cycle of uncontrolled reproduction.
The suffering of ownerless dogs in Romania is immeasurable: they are defencelessly exposed to life on the streets and urgently need help. Many of them are injured, sick and malnourished. This situation is also a bitter reality in other southern and eastern European countries.Instead of neutering and caring for the animals, they are frequently killed. So the animal suffering never ends.
Why are there so many stray dogs in Romania?
In 2013, a law came into force in Romania that requires dog owners to have their animals neutered, identified, registered and vaccinated against rabies. Despite this obligation, most dogs are still not neutered by their owners and can therefore continue to breed. Nobody wants the puppies. They are abandoned or left behind. In 2013, the Romanian government introduced a law that allows stray dogs to be captured and killed after a period of two weeks. The captured dogs suffer a cruel and ultimately pointless ordeal until they die. Romania's goal of fewer stray dogs cannot be achieved nationwide in this way. When the formerly occupied space and food supply becomes free, animals migrate from the surrounding area and reproduce.
A groundbreaking pilot project: Neuter and Educate
Although dog owners are threatened with heavy fines if they do not have their animals neutered, many do not comply - for example because they cannot afford the treatment. In fact, many animals have been abandoned since then.
This is precisely the problem we are tackling with the pilot project that we launched in 2024 together with our member association Tierhilfe Hoffnung: In cooperation with the national and regional veterinary authorities, we want to ensure that dog owners in the district of Argeș comply with their legal ownership obligations over the next five years. Authorised vets will monitor and ensure that dogs are identified, registered and vaccinated against rabies. Neutering, which is also mandatory, will be covered by Tierhilfe Hoffnung for dogs that have not yet been neutered. In order to be able to neuter up to 40,000 animals annually, Tierhilfe Hoffnung is relying on a new neutering and registration center built for the project in addition to its mobile vet clinic. It is the first center of its kind in Romania and an important step towards the implementation of our overall concept: kill shelters are to be converted into neutering centers and stray dogs and cats are to be neutered, vaccinated and then released back into their area of origin.2 This is the only way to solve the stray animal problem in a long-term, sustainable and animal welfare-friendly manner.
Neutering is the key in the fight against the suffering and death of stray dogs. The aim must be to convert the more than 140 kill shelters in Romania into neutering and registration centers. This is the only way to get the dog population under control in a sustainable and animal-friendly manner.
We also talk to local officials and animal welfare organizations to improve the lives of stray dogs in Romania. We regularly network with politicians, authorised veterinarians who monitor compliance with the obligation to neuter, among other things, and the mayors of the Argeș district and campaign for animal welfare-oriented dog population management.
Smeura animal shelter takes in stray animals
Our member organization Tierhilfe Hoffnung takes in stray dogs and cats in the Argeș region at the Smeura animal shelter. With around 6,000 dogs and up to 450 cats, the shelter is the largest in the world. The team provides the animals with medical care. It neuters and microchips them. As long as it is forbidden in Romania to release the animals after neutering and they are killed instead, Tierhilfe Hoffnung regularly transports dogs from the Smeura to German animal shelters in order to place them with families here. The association and the German Animal Welfare Federation have created an open shelter for ownerless dogs that cannot be rehomed for various reasons. Right next to the Smeura, it offers these animals a spacious home in a group with other dogs.
Focus on animal protection on site instead of adoptions
The German Animal Welfare Federation considers the focus of animal welfare work abroad to be help on site. Dogs should only be imported to Germany in individual cases and only from countries where the “catch, neuter, release” principle cannot be legally implemented in order to ease the situation there, at least temporarily. In addition to Romania, this also applies to Hungary and Slovakia, for example.
However, if you are considering giving an animal from another country a home, it is important to look for a reputable animal welfare organization that focuses on providing local help.3 Animals may not enter the country via flight sponsorship and should not be handed over in parking lots. In the best case scenario, the animals are tested for so-called for vector-borne diseases before and after import and only placed via German animal shelters after quarantine and consultation.
Sources
1 STS Report Dog import country Switzerland
2 You can find out more about the "Catch, neuter, release" strategy in our Guide to reducing the population of stray dogs and cats (available in German only)
3 In our position paper on animal welfare abroad, we give tips on what people who are interested in a pet from abroad should be aware of. (available in German only)