As part of the project “Stray and stray domestic animals in Romania. Defining the social and environmental problem through a participatory approach and social innovation”, letters were sent to 20 members of the Romanian Parliament, presenting recommendations for short, medium and long-term action to solve the very complex issue of stray animals.
The recommendations, sent in December 2022, were developed based on the results of three working groups that included representatives of the factors interested in the problem: authorities directly responsible for the management of domestic animals (dogs and cats), animal protection organizations, biodiversity conservation organizations, natural resource administrators, local and county authorities, as well as veterinarians, biologists, managers of forestry and hunting funds.
In all of this, legislative aspects, public information obtained under Law 544 from various institutions, a sociological perception study, as well as other specialized scientific studies were analyzed. All these recommendations were put through two public debate sessions with decision-makers, debates that were organized in December 2022, on the occasion of which several comments were added to the final documents. All relevant documents can be consulted on the project page: https://animalehoinare.ro/campanie-advocacy/
“Although our project ends here, we hope that this is the beginning of a strategic approach to find realistic solutions with visible results. We want representatives of the legislature, but also those who implement the laws, to understand that there is an urgent need for immediate measures, for forceful actions and law enforcement, for human and financial resources, and for dedicated and focused actions for the coming years.” said Mariana Țînțărean, project manager.
The need for public education campaigns is also immediate. The most important themes identified are: information on the legal obligations of pet owners, prevention of abandonment, encouragement of sterilization (with exceptions provided for by law) and microchipping, promotion of responsible adoptions, but also information on the impact that these animals have on wild species, when they are left free, unsupervised.
“Another aspect that emerged from all the discussions is the lack of legislation for cats. It is important that they are also included in a legislative framework, which ensures their conditions for a better life, that they are monitored and identified, and that correct information about responsible ownership of a cat is regularly promoted: sterilization, microchipping, vaccination, medical treatments, living conditions, etc.,” said Alexandru Bulacu, president of the Romanian Wildlife Society, the beneficiary of the project. All project results can be found here: https://animalehoinare.ro/rezultate/
The activity was carried out within the project “Stray and stray domestic animals in Romania. Defining the social and environmental problem through a participatory approach and social innovation”, a project carried out by the “Romanian Wildlife Society”, in partnership with the “Federation of the Natura 2000 Coalition Romania”, and the “Association for Community Partnership Brașov”, with the financial support of the Active Citizens Fund Romania, a program financed by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the 2014-2021 EEA Grants. The aim of the project is to define the problem of stray animals from a social and environmental perspective.
Photo: Zoltán Csorba: https://www.pexels.com/photo/grayscale-photo-of-short-coated-dog-3965286/