To all international press institutions and formal bodies that have the ability to refer the matter to itself.

Stray dogs represent a life-threatening danger to all people that live or visit the territory of Romania.

There are approximately one million stray dogs in Romania and their number is increasing, according to official declarations (source local press) but a realistic number is almost impossible to obtain, due to the rapid growth of their population, and due to the lack of official or unofficial monitoring of their evolution in numbers.The purpose of this text is to raise international awareness concerning the issue of violent stray dogs and the severe health hazards and casualties posed by these, as well as the infringement of several basic human rights to all residents of this European Nation.

There are no euthanasia programs in place in Romania, and no efficient sheltering for stray dogs, so the animals are just left by the authorities on the streets, to manage by themselves. Usually the dogs become aggressive.

There are more than 10 000 people bitten every year only in the capital, Bucharest, and there are numerous cases of death caused by stray dog attacks. Some shocking examples that can be found in the Romanian press:

• On April 4^th, 2008 a 6 year old girl died after she was attacked by a pack of stray dogs located on state property. (Source)
• On January 25^th, 2011 a 56 year old woman died 3 days after she was attacked by 15 dogs, 3 of which were registered to be under the protection of public dog shelters. The attack took place on a government administrated domain, called the Public Domain Administration (in Romanian : Administraţia Domeniului Public) (Source)
• On March 22^nd 2011 a 62 year old woman died after she was attacked on the street in the city of Albota, Arges, a province of Romania (Source)
• In January 2012 a 71 year old woman died of severe bleeding caused by the attack of a pack of stray dogs in the city of Baia Mare, Romania (Source)
• In March 2012 a 6 year old boy on his way to his father’s work place was slaughtered by a stray dog (Source).
• In February 2012 a 75 year old man had gone missing after he went to buy bread. Fragments of his body were found later in a parking lot, and the autopsy indicated the cause to be canine slaughter. (Source) 
• On January 29^th, 2006 a Japanese citizen and official representative of a company, aged 68, was bitten 6 times by a stray dog on the femur artery and died before the ambulance reached him. (Source) The dog (Bosquito) became famous, was defended in court by a lawyer, won, and got adopted in Germany.

These are only few of the cases covered by the Romanian press. There are many more examples.
The inability of the authorities to handle the situation and the lack of governmental action on this matter infringes several basic human rights, which are mentioned in the Romanian Constitution (Source):

Article 22 of the Romanian Constitution

(1) The right to life, as well as the right to physical and mental integrity of person are guaranteed.

Article 23 of the Romanian Constitution

(1) Individual freedom and security of a person are inviolable.

Article 34 of the Romanian Constitution

(2) The State shall be bound to take measures to ensure public hygiene and health.

Article 35 of the Romanian Constitution
(1) The State shall acknowledge the right of every person to a healthy, well preserved and balanced environment.

(2) The State shall provide the legislative framework for the exercise of such right.

Article 49 of the Romanian Constitution

(1) Children and young people shall enjoy special protection and assistance in the pursuit of their rights.

The NGOs for animal rights have been very influential and have so far loudly reacted in favor of the stray dogs in Romania, but have failed to address a constructive solution to the issue of their biological multiplication, to the severe health issues involved, their ferocious violence, and to the lack of control of their population. No formal body and no institution stand in favor of the human victims of the attacks, and against the daily aggressions carried out by stray dogs in Romania. The internal law protects the stray dogs from being harmed, and punishes the euthanasia of violent dogs performed by a regular citizen with jail time from 6 months up to 3 years (Source L771/2007 art 14). Moreover, the few laws that are in place for the dogs’ sheltering are not applied at present by the assigned state institutions, due to the lack of resources and budget.

The Romanians who wish to take a stand against stray dogs have not yet managed to come together in a formal organization, and to come up with a homogenous action plan. They are blocked by the heavy bureaucratic procedures of the official authorities, by the internal animal-protection laws, and they find themselves powerless against the heavily funded international animal protecting NGOs.

 

We would appreciate your help in making this message visible worldwide to as many international organizations as possible, to bodies that could take a stand or take action.