PRESS RELEASE:
A poll by Gallup International, ordered by animal welfare NGO Animal Rescue Sofia shows there are 2 400 000 owned dogs in Bulgaria in total. The number of dog owners equals the number of smokers in the country, two third of the dog-owners also have a cat.
Two shocking facts have surfaced in this study:
-80% of the owned dogs in Bulgaria are being cared for outside the house;
-50% of the owners admit that they dump the unwanted puppies their dogs produce.
The stray dog problem in Bulgaria will not be solved until true control is enforced on dog owners and responsible dog ownership is introduced through an education program, Animal Rescue Sofia comments.
“Only 17% of the owned dogs are neutered, and that is only in the cities” said ARS spokeswoman Stella Raycheva for Btv. She adds: “In the 4 years since the efforts to decrease the dog population began, the Ministry of Agriculture has not fined a single person for pet abandonment.”
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A more detailed analysis of the survey can be found PDF HERE (sorry, Bulgarian only)
S. Raycheva comments the poll for Btv – VIDEO HERE (sorry, Bulgarian only)