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PROTEST AGAINST BULGARIAN INDUSTRY ABUSING PET POPULATIONS
Start July 19 2004
Juli 22 2004 edition
In Bulgaria there is a widespread traditional interest for the huge number of companion cats and dogs, of free-roaming, tame cats and dogs in residential and industrial yards, and also for all dogs living in the streets. Nevertheless, there is no official national policy concerning cat and dog populations and their increase. The number of permanently increasing populations as well as the number of permanently disappearing animals stays unknown and unnaturally dynamic. For exemple, each year the Far East exports approximately 2,000,000 furs yielded by domestic dogs (data published by The ROYAL SPCA). It is obviousli that Bulgaria also has been using for many years millions of pet animals as free commodity.
We can approximate the density of cats and dogs using UK's 2001 data published by The ROYAL SPCA, where the number of cats and dogs are about 20 percent of the number of the human population (8,000,000 cats and 6,500,000 dogs). For an idea of the possible extent of the reproductive crisis we take North Carolina's 80's statistical data published by The ANIMAL PEOPLE Newspaper, when according to official reports some 238,000 unwanted cats and dogs were being killed annually, per 1,000,000 citizens. The only official data to my knowledge concerning both populations is the Deputy-Mayor of Sofia's confirmation in the daily press in May 2000 of about 13,000 - 14,000 dog killings for a 16 months period, per 1,200,000 citizens (for example, in 1999 the number of official shelter killings in Greater Kansas City, Missouri is 65,000 annually, per 1,300,000 citizens, data published by The FUR ANGELS). In fact the sole real control of both increasing populations in Bulgaria is connected with their criminal reduction and includes the following activities:
- illegal catching of an unknown number of semi-dependent cats and their posterity;
- thefts of many free-roaming companion cats and dogs;
- systematic obtaining by deceit of immense number of unregistered pet cats and pet dogs offered by their owners;
- systematic abuse of the unknown number of dogs in the municipal shelters: I saw myself that dogs caught by the municipal dog-catchers were not registered in the city shelter or were not returned to their owners; in March 2000 Mr. Pavel Atanasov shot a video of illegal activities in the same city shelter, including the loading to a truck with a few dozens alive and sedated dogs and their taking to an unknown destination; besides, in the last years the Sofia Municipal shelter in Miroviane is used by the fur trading company "Vigomi".
Since December 2002 ANIMAL PROGRAMS is constantly looking for support from the newsmedia for eliciting this crisis. And the topic stay unusually avoided in most Bulgarian media. During the last few years numerous media, bureaucrats, veterinarians and non-governmental organizations were engaged in a massive phony and hypocritical propaganda. According to the public opinion the pet population issue is due to the lack of an ANIMAL PROTECTION ACT on one hand. On the other, however, the population of stray dogs is presented as a separate population. In fact not enough owners prevent their pets from mating due to obscure, subjective and biased motivations: there is a widespread false belief that giving birth is healthy for the animal and that there are more then enough responsible candidates for adopting the offspring. Therefore it is a common practice for many unregistered pets, kept for 2-3 years, to be offered for second adoption or simply be left in the streets. Besides, the fertility among all females is practically kept intact. Two non-governmental organizations announced the sterilization in Sofia total of approximately 6,000 male and female dogs during the last 10-12 years.
The official governmental control in Bulgaria includes the identification and registration of owned dogs when they reach the age of 6 months as well as the keeping of records and reports of the professional breeding and trade with companion animals (in pet-shops). In the same time many amateurs are breeding unregistered pet animals with a hope for an undeclared income of 75-150 EURO per animal. In fact a part of the black market consists of unregistered pet animals offered by classifieds in pet-shops, vet-cabinets, newspapers or Internet (www.fokus.bg); in Sofia many dogs are collected with promises for their adoption in Switzerland. Besides, one of the organized activities in Sofia is the letting in different neighbourhoods of small groups of 3-4 unregisteres dogs with collars (sterilized), which have permanently been born in private backyards.
ANIMAL PROGRAMS is in contact with the Bulgarian State Institutions and signals about the opportunities for criminal industry and about the necessity to introduce real commercial control in this direction. In January 2004 ANIMAL PROGRAMS made a PROPOSITION FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF A NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR CONTROL OVER THE BREEDING AND TRADING OF CATS AND DOGS to The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry (and Veterinary Activity) and The Minister of Finance, which will provide the common measures for effective pet population control; in March 11 2004 ANIMAL PROGRAMS made a PETITION FOR FIRM CONTROL OVER ALL ACTIVITIES INVOLVING DOG AND CAT POPULATIONS to The Vice-Premier Ms. Lidia Shuleva and both Ministers. These Institutions avoid the main problem about number of both populations, their approximate increase, theirs movements and their criminal reduction.
DESPITE OF THE EU'S REQUIREMENTS IN REGULATION 998/2003 THESE STATE INSTITUTIONS SYLENTLY TOLERATE AN NATIONAL BLACK-MARKET INDUSTRY WHO ABUSE PET POPULATIONS; AND THE MUNICIPALITY OF SOFIA STAY THE LARGEST BULGARIAN INSTITUTION DIRECTLY PARTICIPATING IN THIS ABUSE. WE PROTEST AGAINST THEIR CYNICAL IRRESPONSIBILITY AND SEND THEM THIS LETTER. WE APPEAL MANY PEOPLE TO SPRAY/PUBLISH THIS LETTER, ALSO SEND THIS LETTER, OR SHORT BRIEF, OR JUST "STOP PET ABUSE" TO:
Ms. Lidia Shuleva: <public@mi.government.bg>;
or: fax (359 2) 988 55 32;
or: 8 Slavianska str., 1052 Sofia, Bulgaria
Mr. Mehmed Dikme: <press@mzgar.government.bg>;
or: fax (359 2) 980-62-56
Mr. Milen Veltchev: <feedback@minfin.bg>;
or: 102 G.S.Rakovski str., 1040 Sofia, Bulgaria
The Mayor/Deputy Mayor of Sofia: fill the form at www.sofia.bg ;
or: The Municipality of Sofia, Moskovska str., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
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ANIMAL PROGRAMS FOUNDATION
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The Foundation ANIMAL PROGRAMS-BULGARIA is registered in June 10 2004 by Court in Sofia. The main purpose of this initiative is the health and welfare of all cats and dogs in Bulgaria. The Foundation accepts as base the prevention of pet-population increase and the common principles in this direction:
- restriction of pet-animals movements mainly by the introduction of a national system of identification and registration (this requirement in EU REGULATION N:998/2003 also concern Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey);
- restriction of commercial pet breeding mainly by introducing taxation;
- restriction of amateurish pet breeding mainly by the implementation of informative-educational programs;
- restriction the reproduction of free-roaming animals mainly by implementation of sterilization programs.
Contacts: Emil Kuzmanov
Founder of ANIMAL PROGRAMS-BULGARIA
www.animalprograms.hit.bg
Yanko Sofiiski Voivoda str.
1164, Sofia
Bulgaria
Tel: (359 2) 865 5623
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