A mass-slaughter of all stray dogs in the town of Calarasi, Romania, started September 15 2007. It was said a fox suffering of rabies had infected all the dogs in the area. It is likely to be another way of trying to control the ever-growing population of stray dogs in this town and elsewhere in Romania. UPDATE 17/9/07 The fox tested negative in an independant lab. UPDATE 22/9/07 over 140 dogs killed, many more to come. UPDATE 28/9/07 the killings will resume Monday after festivities in the city. UPDATE 24/10/07 Over 500 dogs have been killed. Authorities are aware of international protests but are ignoring them. UPDATE 28/1/08 The slaughter started once again. Since September thousands of dogs have been killed.
FINAL UPDATE: The shelter is now managed by
Save the Dogs and the dogs remaining in the shelter are safe and will be neutered and eventually put up for adoption. Thank you everyone for signing, we know the international attention was an embarrassment to the mayor and others in Calarasi who finally gave in and stopped. The problem is still the same for thousands of strays in Eastern Europe, however for these dogs at least their hell is over.
It has come to our attention that a mass-slaughter of all stray dogs in your town of Calarasi is planned for September 15th 2007. We're signing this petition and contacting the press to let you understand we do not agree with this. We desperately urge you to reconsider. Killing off these dogs will not solve the problem if it's a matter of over-population as for every dog killed two puppies are born. If these dogs are truly infected, which can only be known by testing them, there are more humane ways to deal with this. There are people who are willing and able to help you deal with any problems you have concerning the stray dogs of Calarasi.
There are people all around the world that will be following this to see what happens, so please think about how you choose to deal with this situation. Once again, we urge you to reconsider the mass-slaughter.
Hear our plea.
Thank you for your attention.
