Help stop cruelty to dogs in Moldova

Local authorities in the Moldovan capital Chisinau let dogs die every day from misery in a crowded kennel where they are kept, report local animal protectors. In 2018, the municipality had promised the Dutch Party for the Animals to implement animal-friendly stray animal policy in the short term.

A common image at the Kennel of Death in the Moldovan capital Chisinau.

In the Moldovan capital Chisinau, hundreds of dogs are being held on a much too small space, right next to a former landfill and a former cemetery for cattle. The place is called Necropolis, is managed by a waste company, and has been known for years as the Kennel of Death. Stray dogs are kept in hellish conditions. They get too little food and water and the food that they do get is thrown on the floor, among all the excrement. Every day, two to three dogs perish in misery.

The waste company responsible for the situation catches the dogs from the street and receives money from the Moldovan government to manage the stray population. However, the company does not use the money for the animals and an animal-friendly approach: the money largely ends up in the pockets of the company's management.

Animal protectors in Chisinau call on the local government to finally take action: "Close Necropolis and leave the implementation of the stray animal policy according to the Trap Neuter Return (TNR) method to the municipal department for animal protection. A garbage company should not catch stray animals. Animals are not waste."

Visit Party for the Animals
In 2018, the Dutch Party for the Animals spoke with the political adviser of the mayor of Chisinau about the treatment of stray animals in the municipality. The municipality acknowledged that there is still much room for improvement in the area of animal welfare policy. It was then promised that the municipality would implement animal-friendly stray animal policy in the short term. The first step in this direction would be the opening of a professional center for sterilization of stray dogs, in which dogs can be received and treated according to European standards. However, this did not happen and the money for animal-friendly stray animal policy went to the dubious waste company.

Act now
There are two ways in which everyone can help put an end to the horror situation in which the dogs of Chisinau have to live and die:

1. Send a friendly email to Ion Ceban, the mayor of Chisinau, requesting to put an end to the terrible conditions in Necropolis and to treat stray animals according to European standards and the TNR method. Contact information: ion.ceban@pmc.md and primaria@pmc.md.

2. Sign a petition calling on the government to better protect animals. The petition is only available in Romanian and Russian and has already been signed more than 1200 times.