Street dogs in Sofia

The problem of stray dogs (Bulgarian: помияри, pomiyari^[1]) in Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria, was acknowledged in 2012 by the government as the most important problem of the city.

Background

Stray dogs are the top and number one problem of Bulgaria's capital Sofia, according to mayor Yordanka Fandakova.^[2] Stray dogs have become part of urban life in Bulgaria but after a pack mauled a US university professor and Wall Street broker to death in 2012, the problem spotted into light, prompting the government to suggest a large-scale euthanasia program for aggressive animals and construction of emergency shelters to remove other strays from the street. Rights groups struck back, accusing authorities of weak control over pet owners who do not register their animals and often abandon them or their litters on the streets and state that there are corrupt practices when it comes to castrating dogs.^[3] The mayor Fandakova gained a global precedent, she is an unattainable mayor by number of citizens killed by dogs with 2 registered death cases only for 2012. Because of the incidents, a political opponent of the mayor, Georgi Kadiev, tried to sue Fandakova, but the local court rejected his wish.^[4] Bulgaria is still relatively tolerant for the dogs, unlike neighbouring Romania, where a law for the extermination of street dogs was signed by president Basescu and many politicians have been sued such as Basescu himself.^[5]

Statistics

Registered rabies cases in Bulgaria (2002-2008)
*green — Provinces without rabies cases
*orange — Provinces with individual rabies cases(including Sofia)
*red — Provinces with a high rate of rabies

Although according to officials there are 6600 street dogs currently, unofficially there at least 35,000 street dogs and other figures put the number much higher.^[6] Some claim that the Municipality of Sofia estimates as many as 70.000 stray dogs.^[7] The mayor said in 2012 that there are an estimated 9200 stray dogs in Sofia, but that many arrive constantly from other parts of the country. According to officials, the number is decreasing and decreased by 28% for two years as the census of dogs recorded 6635 dogs in 2013 down from 9241 in 2011. Although the plan is the number to be reduced to 400 in 2016, according to others the number is increasing. Officials claimed a total of 26,118 dogs sterilized and released outside between September 2006 and July 2013.^[8] Some 600 dogs were adopted in 2013 and 432 in 2012, 5987 dogs were castrated just in 2013. The highest concentration of street fogs was found where there are more Romani neighbourhoods, only there 1000 dogs were castrated in 2014.^[9] The number of dogs, that have been already adopted is 2500.^[10]

The census of dogs showed that there were 11000 dogs in 2010.^[11] In 2006, the dogs were 17000.^[12] The first census, carried out in 2005, enumerated 16200 animals, in 2007 - 11124, in 2009 - 8538. In 2008, 4968 dogs had been caught, of which 4152 were "modified" and casted back on the streets, 296 were adopted. In 2009, 5141 dogs had been caught, of which 3150 dogs were casted back on the streets and 451 were adopted. In 2010, of 4588 caught animals, 2770 were taken back on the streets and 377 were adopted. Between 2008 and 2010 the animals who either were executed or died were 2728. Only exceptionally aggressive animals, involved in incidents and suffering from not curable diseases were executed is said. The density of street dogs is highest around the southern ring of Sofia, where Botyo Tachkov died.^[13] More people were harmed in the districts Studentski grad, Ovcha kupel, Knyazhevo and Pancharevo, the least in the neighbourhoods with rich and famous people - Boyana, Simeonovo and Dragalevtsi.^[14] In 2007, in Bulgaria there were registered 22 rabies cases of dogs among 40 total.

The density of stray dogs in Sofia with 1.2 million people is lower than in other towns like Veliko Tarnovo with 60,000 people, where 2000 stray dogs live.^[15] The registered owned dogs in Sofia are 10,683, only 2% of the 200,000 owned dogs are registered.^[16]

Incidents

Despite that many people have been attacked by stray dogs, those who kill dogs may face from 3 up to 5 years imprisonment, though it is not known if the law is just nominal and may have been even unenforced.^[17]

In Pernik, which is sometimes considered a suburb of Sofia, some dogs were caught carrying around the streets human bones, remains of hands and legs with eaten fingers.^[18]

An attack by street dogs in the Sofia Zoo, resulted in the death of eight mouflons, some roes and shovelers.^[19]

Botyo Tachkov's death

The problem of street dogs in general spotted into light in 2012 after an incident that resulted in the death of a prominent person. Some street dogs killed the Wall Street-billionaire Professor Botyo Tachkov, one of the most famous American scientists with numerous achievements. A Pernik-born student and teacher of the prominent Columbia University, teacher in some German universities as well, Wall Street broker and president of a Wall Street investment bank, worker in the US Department of State, the United Nations and the World Bank, writer of about a dozen of scientific books that are present in the world's significant libraries, holder of the Eleonore Roosevelt, Fulbright awards, included in Who's Who in America and the Industry and Finance, he emigrated to the United States in 1962 by asylum because of his denial to serve the Bulgarian communist agencies. Unluckily, in his last years he had returned to teach in Bulgaria where he suffered a brutal death at the age of 87. When walking down the district Malinova dolina in Sofia, near the American College where he was teaching, he was attacked by about 20 street dogs, which ate his left foot and his eyes, making him blind according to the doctors. Though he survived, he died in the hospital after intensive care and an unsuccessful surgery 10 days later. Considering his complicated past, it is also suggested that his death may be an intentionally prompted murder. The urn containing his ash is kept at the place for the most famous Bulgarians in the Sofia Central Cemetery.^[20] After the investigation in 2012, 4 of the 23 caught dogs in Malinova Dolina were killed by the authorities in Sofia, the rest 19 were closed in a dog camp in Seslavtsi from where they could be adopted^[21] and some Austrians wanted to adopt the dogs that killed Botyo Tachkov. The mayor declared that sometimes dogs are adopted and the adopters cast them on the streets again.^[22]

See also

• Street dogs in Bucharest
• Street dogs in Moscow

External links

Map of the street dogs in Sofia

References