The animal welfare in Romania - Street cleansing with poison - Braila 2007

To quote a recent material on BBC on stray animals,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/romanian/news/story/2007/07/070714_moldova_chisinau_caini.s\
html

the administration of Braila city still preserves 'the soviet system of fighting the stray animals'.  The stray dog matter is easily solved: the animals are caught and killed in dog pound or poisoned right on street.

The law 205/2004  Art.1: The law for the protection of animals concerns both animals with owners and stray animals. 

Braila case is detailed on the link below:

http://www.protectiaanimalelor.ro/dogs_braila.html


Images & films:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/l_xtalionis/show/

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3713946556828054887

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3816019685530706615&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2341561270386063651

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6511031593815494548

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5425220871984494586&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5555630856054737241&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2179459063002518010&hl=en

Abandoned horse, left to die:
July 14th

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2390317705107962247&hl=en

July 15th

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8296596966135193657&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6017305320892482650&hl=en

Unfortunately Braila, with a considerable number of stray animals poisoned on street lately, is not an isolated case; the animal abuses happen in almost all places in Romania, the media is flooded by such reports, entailing the conclusion that the competent authorities and institutions don't do their duty: to enforce the Romanian law in effect.

Galati: Tens of dogs poisoned at Mittal Steel company - Aug 4th, 2007:

http://vs04.netstairs.ro/antena3tv/webroot/website/?videoid=6818

(Title: Masacru canin la Mittal Steel Galati)

http://www.antena3.ro/Zeci-de-caini-otraviti-la-Combinatul-din-Galati-(IMAGINI-SOCANTE)_act_36918_ext.html

Even though the Romanian law for animal protection is lax and permissive (the Romanian legislation has no felony class laws for animal abuse), it is the lax enforcement that puts the animals at risk.

While in other countries intentionally subjecting an animal to cruel neglect, mistreatment, or killing is a felony, punishable by fine and /or imprisonment, and sentences can also include community service, no animal ownership for several years, and restitution, here the abuses and cruelty on animals bring about no reaction from authorities.
These authorities are:

- the local administration

- the local veterinarian authority and central veterinarian authority

- the police

- the institutions for environment protection

- justice and the organs of penal pursuit

The abuses on stray animals, horses, animals in zoo, clown bears in restaurants, are just a few cases that allow the public to find out how the institutions and authorities, paid from public tax money (DON'T) do their job, behaving differently in public versus in private to cover up corrupt and disreputable practices, frequently ignoring or failing to enforce the animal related laws and the Romanian laws, to crack down on animal abusers and law violators.

What is the scale of abuse over untold numbers of animals at stockyards, slaughterhouses, and production farms?

It is known that the people who are cruel to animals are more likely than others to be cruel to humans too, according to a 1997 report from the Humane Society of the United States. "Abusers rarely stop to count the number of legs on their victims," said Dr. Randall Lockwood, a psychologist and vice president for The HSUS.
 

Since the animal abuses continue and go unpunished, and sometimes the worst cases of cruelty are within the system (the abuses on the impounded stray animals are of public notoriety), it is obvious that tougher and effective laws against the cruelty on animals are urgently needed, and especially, new institutions, such as Animal Police.

We believe that the culture of impunity is a contributing factor to the repeated acts of violence and cruelty against the animals.

Therefore, please urge the Romanian authorities

1. to enforce the Romanian laws in effect and the animal welfare laws in peculiar.

2. the Romanian Parliament - to schedule the debates to amend the law for animal protection at the earliest opportunity, as a matter of urgency (a few projects are submitted, one example - below).

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/384591711

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/107215425

3. On behalf of the citizens of Braila whose individual protests against the violation of a law or of a right were unsuccessful, please urge Braila  city hall and the mayor, Constantin Cibu:

- to put an end to the disdainful attitude toward the compassionate people

- to put an end to the acts of cruelty on the stray animals

- to stop promoting the discrimination against the compassionate people & animal welfare organizations

-  to cancel immediately the contract  city hall - NGO Horez

-  following the model of other Romanian cities (Galati - the city next to Braila, Iasi, Gorj, Craiova, Hunedoara, Cernavoda, Oradea) to adopt real measures to reduce the number of strays: animal identification and registering, a responsible policy to curb the pet abandonment, spaying/neutering of the stray animals and pets.