>>> ALL PAST ACTIONS CAN BE FOUND HERE: 2007. / 2008. BULGARIA stray dogs <<<
2009. "They throw living dogs into the incinerators"
"There are virtually no stray animals in Plovdiv", says Dimitur Georgiev, chairman of Plovdiv's society for the prevention of cruelty to animals. "We insist on a humane solution of the problem. The conditions in the isolators are cruel. Former employees of the combustion facilities have horrible stories to tell. Some of the dogs wake up after anaesthesia and are regardlessly thrown into the flames of the furnace alive. In comparison with the west we are a hundred years behind, but intellectually it adds up to a thousand years."
petition: STOP CRUELTY TO DOGS IN BULGARIA AND SET UP SHELTERS http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stopdogcrueltyinbulgariabuildshelters
WELCOME TO EUROPE…
Haskovo in Bulgaria – another place of crime against defenceless creatures!!!
Following a hint from Bulgarian people, we reached the zoo of Haskovo. We were told that puppies are fed alive to the animals of the zoo.
Just behind the playground for children (!!!) we discovered a suspicious building. The sweetish smell and the pitiful whimpering led us the way. Next to the building some cages…
In the meadow and the neighbouring wood you could find half rotten dog bodies. We ask ourselves whether it is really “healthy and responsible” to let the children play on this ground – the dander of epidemics is evident.
Between the trees, just behind the playground, there is the so-called “Isolator” with no windows, so we could only imagine the scenes going on inside. Soon it became sad certainty.
On the official website of Haskovo you can find very impressive advertising for the zoo. It is described as the favourite place for children – but they forgot to mention the death station for the dogs in the background… they just want to have “clean” streets.
This poor dog is only a skeleton and can hardly stand on his feet. We don’t know for how long he has not received any food or water. He is so thirsty that he is about to get crazy. People only threw rubbish and empty plastic bottles into his iron cage.
The “supervisors” notice us. We are being watched and we ask a lot of questions. Their gestures mean “they are only obeying and executing orders”. They don’t mind at all. These workers are totally hardened and just want to keep their jobs. Even though what they are doing is not legal.
On January 31st , 2008 a Bulgarian animal welfare law has been issued. But animals mean nothing to these people. They probably have been brought up this way. They torture animals without any feelings – not even responsibility. How does it feel to sit in the cosy guard-room knowing that a few metres behind the dogs are fighting a horrible death-struggle for weeks?
We saw these two cages, the dogs lying underneath the puppies are already dead. Probably their mum is one of them. We notice a penetrating bad smell, heartbreaking whimpering and terrible pain. How long does it take until the organs stop functioning without food and water? The soul of these poor animals dies long before that…
The incredibly sad eyes stare at us… We feel guilty to be of the “human” race. Standing in front of the building we can only glaze inside through the slots in the iron doors and see the further drama: a few still living dogs are sitting on top of about half a meter of dead dog bodies (we guess about 80 dead dogs).
This is the evidence we were looking for when we were told that the stray dogs of Haskovo are caught and brought here to be left to their fate.
THIS MEANS NO FOOD AND NO WATER FOR THE CAPTURED DOGS UNTIL THEY DIE IN AGONY!!!
We climbed up the iron fence behind the building to have a look inside. The dogs went crazy for hunger and thirst when they saw us. They hope for food and freedom.
Everywhere in the meadow dead dog bodies…
After a sleepless night we return to Haskovo the next day. The troubles we made the day before have moved them into action. They seem to know that what they are doing is not legal. We are surprised when we look through the slots in the doors again – no more dogs and dead bodies anymore, everything cleaned up and you could smell the strong odour of disinfectants. They were obviously afraid that we might return – with cameras and even more people. Now the silence of death reigns…
In the meadow beside the isolator we find dying dogs which (at least this time) they did not slay or feed to the lions. We pick them up and take them with us. These poor creatures are so weak they cannot run away anymore. Some puppies stuck to their dead mum the night before – we cannot save them anymore, we are too late… Others are hidden in an iron roll, seeking for shelter. They whimper. Some mobilize their last reserves and crawl a few meters away from this horrible place. They haven’t got the strength anymore to bring themselves to a safe place… One more dog lies in the snow, hardly breathing.
Immediately we race to the veterinary with the rescued dogs. Here in the light we can see the dimension of what these dogs went through. This dog’s lower half is covered with dried cadaverous liquid. The odour is typical sweetish. He had to lie on his dead fellows. His body is extremely dehydrated and the eyes are deep in their sockets and dead. In and around his snout some remaining excrements he ate in despair.
“Hope” represents the fate of his fellow dogs in Haskovo. We hope he can make it.
SHAME ON YOU, HASKOVO!!!
The present mayor who is responsible for these cruelties and acting against Bulgarian animal welfare laws is Georgi Ivanov: “Haskovo is famous as a town with clean streets and there is not a single filthy dog”
Message from Sylvana Stierschneider: www.tierhilfe-sueden-austria .at 13.5.2009
Many dogs were saved because we do have even a MP on our side, but we have to keep the protest and pressure on this young EU country, because this is completely against all LAWS and humanity. Below u will find ADDYS and a SAMPLE LETTER and to see the horrible pictures go to:
http://www.tierhilfe-sueden-austria.at/cms/bilder/haskovo-up1/Index_3.html
BELOW THE 1st SAMPLE LETTER
Send to:
Municipality of Haskovo
Georgi Ivanov, Mayor of Haskovo Municipality
BG – 6300 Haskovo 1
Obshtinski square
Tel.: 00359 38 603300 Fax: 00359 38 664110
e-mail: kmet@haskovo.bg
Office of the Major in Haskovo
e-mail: oblast@aidabg.net
European Animal Welfare Commission SANCO
e-mail: sanco-animal-welfare@ec.europa.eu
Bulgarian central government
e-mail: GIS@government.bg
Bulgarian Embassies/Consulates Abroad:
http://www.embassiesabroad.com/embassies-of/Bulgaria
ADDYS:
kmet@haskovo.bg, oblast@aidabg.net, sanco-animal-welfare@ec.europa.eu, GIS@government.bg,
+ YOUR EMBASSY AND/OR CONSULATES
LETTER:
Dear Mayor, dear Mister Ambassador, dear Madam, dear Sir,
We refer to the atrocities and crimes against dogs in Haskovo-Bulgaria. What has happened in the last few days is incredibly cruel and inhumane. It is shameful for a country with an Animal Welfare Law, which is not applied. The facts: countless dogs were locked up as garbage, in a shed with no windows and they had to starve miserably! In the area of the shed were found decomposing corpses of dogs. It is known that the shed is located on a playground!! In addition we have got the incredible information that puppies were fed alive to lions. Unfortunately there is no doubt about the truth of this horrible information. There are serious witnesses and evidence pictures. It has been reported that the responsible person for this crime is the mayor of Haskovo, Mr. Georgi Ivanov. He is acting against the Bulgarian animal welfare law and calls it “cleansing action”. He argues that bastards have no right to live. In collaboration with other animal-welfare groups, we will ensure that these atrocities against defenceless dogs, initiated by Mr.Georgi Ivanov, the mayor of Haskovo, will be publicized in other countries, where animals are respected and not brutally persecuted. There should not be any reason to treat animals in this barbaric way!! We demand that these atrocities will have consequences.
Sincerely,
………….
You can also post the letter through the website of Haskovo municipality: http://www.haskovo.bg/contact_us/
AND A SECOND LETTER FROM ANOTHER ORGANISATION TO THE HIGHEST OFFICIALS:
ADDYS:
n.markov@prb.bg, b.stoeva@government.bg, signal@plovdiv.bg
Subject: ISOLATORS ISOLATE BULGARIA
Dear Attorney General Velchev,
Dear Deputy Prime Minister Plugtschieva,
Dear Mayor Atanossov,
article 6 and article 7 of the Bulgarian animal protection act prohibit "the infliction of pain and every act or omission of an act, that causes permanent or repeated suffering for the animal".
The massacre of dogs in Plovdiv on February 8, during which 14 dogs were slain with iron bars by two animal keepers known to us by name before the eyes of two witnesses, not only grossly contradicts the applicable law and the elementary ethical standards, but also harms the esteem of your country.
WE DEMAND FROM YOU:
* The closing down of all camps for stray animals in Bulgaria and their conversion into animal shelters
* Severe punishment for those who torment, kill or maroon animals
* Immediate implementation of the castration programmes provided by the animal protection act
* Free access to the camps for stray animals for all citizens
Enforce the applicable law and make sure, that the isolators finally disappear from the moral map of Bulgaria. This is your duty, comply with it!
I will only visit Bulgaria again when your country considers its responsibility towards animals.
Yours sincerely
