ThePrint ·
Romanian shelter offers an alternative to stray dog culls
CATEASCA, Romania, Sept 17 (Reuters) – Every day at dawn, eight veterinary vans pull out of the Smeura animal shelter, deep in a forest in central Romania, and fan out to villages where they sterilize dogs for free.
The pilot programme run by German animal welfare association Tierhilfe Hoffnung has one main aim — to show there is a better alternative to the country’s policy of culling unwanted animals.
Romania authorised the capture and euthanasia of strays in 2013 after a child was killed in an attack. Thirteen years on, animal groups say the country still has one of Europe’s largest populations of roaming dogs, estimated at 500,000.
