FOUR
PAWS has submitted legal steps for the Romanian Government to freeze
the killing of stray dogs at the Court of Appeal in Bucharest on
11/03/2014.
From FOUR PAWS Press Release:
http://www.vier-pfoten.org/en/news-press/press-archive/2014/killing-of-stray-dogs-season-in-romania-has-officially-started/ Over 1,000 supporters joined the protest last weekend in Bucharest, unfolding a banner calling on th
e Government to “Give dogs a chance to live”
11.3.2014, Bucharest. “We already warned the authorities that killing
the stray dogs is not a genuine solution to empty the streets of strays.
We will take all necessary steps to convince the Government to stop
this law and replace it with one that will bring a sustainable solution
for the situation in the country and welfare for people and for dogs,
without resorting to killing. Taking it to the Court of Appeal is the
first step now the killing season is open”, stated Gabriel Paun,
Director of Campaigns at FOUR PAWS.
The killing law came into
force last October following a tragic incident in which a little boy was
fatally injured by stray dogs a month earlier. The methodology to be
applied to the killing came to light at Christmas time and the killing
started soon after. It has aspects that contradict several laws and make
it unacceptable. For example, the local authorities may now delegate
the management of the stray dogs to any private company. On the
enforcement level the law is impracticable under several aspects. One
example is the indistinct authority given to administrative units, which
may step in to collect and kill dogs from each other’s territories.
Public access to monitor shelters is severely restricted and there are
few opportunities for adoptions. Furthermore, dog owners must notify the
local authorities when they leave their residence for longer than 2
weeks – a requirement which is neither adequate nor practicable.
“We found legal weaknesses in the methodology of the law and we
attacked it. It treats dog owners as prisoners. It discourages
adoptions. It encourages fraud and illicit killing business while local
authorities will clash, stepping on each other’s toes. The court may
suspend the killing law at the first judicial hearing, to be scheduled
soon”, added Paun.
FOUR PAWS has already reported over 70
abuse cases to authorities in the past few months (shooting, poisoning
and other barbarian methods). So far, the police were not able to bring
the criminals to justice. “The picture of a killing law includes
additional abuse and deadly torture by free criminals under the eyes of
an impotent police”, concluded Paun.
FOUR PAWS calls on the
Romanian Government to freeze the current killing law and to issue an
Emergency Governmental Ordinance that will cancel killing and manage the
stray dog population in a humane and sustainable manner.
Source: http://www.vier-pfoten.org/en/news-press/press-archive/2014/killing-of-stray-dogs-season-in-romania-has-officially-started/
