Half of all European countries
struggles with a large stray population
Hamburg. There are no official figures for stray dogs and cats in Germany. However, estimates suggest that there are several thousand stray dogs and around two million ownerless cats – on the streets of Europe there are said to be a total of 100 million. Stray dogs in Turkey were recently in the spotlight when the Turkish parliament passed a law change that allows the long-term mass accommodation and killing of these dogs. The global animal welfare organization FOUR PAWS points out the ineffectiveness of these cruel methods and shows how things can be done better.
“Millions of dogs live on the streets of Europe – this makes strays one of the most pressing animal welfare problems in Europe,” says Manuela Rowlings, head of FOUR PAWS Stray Aid in Europe. Simply locking up stray dogs is not a solution. As in Germany, most animal shelters in other European countries are overcrowded with dogs and cats waiting – in many cases in vain – for a new home. That is why FOUR PAWS has been caring for stray animals for 25 years, helping cats and dogs on the street. “To stop the stray population from growing, a multi-faceted approach is needed. On the one hand, we closely involve the communities, and on the other hand, we educate people about responsible animal husbandry and adoption programs and use the catch-neuter-vaccinate-release method with population control,” explains Rowlings.
Successful stray animal management in Sofia
In Sofia, Bulgaria, where FOUR PAWS has been operating since 2008, the multi-stage approach has already proven successful. Before the international animal welfare organization began its work on site, more than 70,000 stray dogs were killed by the authorities between 1999 and 2006, which proved to be cruel and ineffective. Since 2007, in addition to community work and educational programs, FOUR PAWS has also operated mobile clinics and an inpatient clinic that offer veterinary care, vaccinations and castrations for strays. This has reduced the number of stray dogs in Sofia from 11,000 in 2007 to just 3,600 in 2018. The population has continued to decline since then. While FOUR PAWS in Germany is still calling on the federal government to include an obligation to identify and register dogs and cats in the amendment to the Animal Welfare Act, dog owners in Bulgaria are already obliged to register their animals. This makes a significant contribution to preventing them from being abandoned – the main reason for stray dog populations. Together with the city administration, FOUR PAWS was awarded by the European Parliament as a best practice example for reducing the number of stray dogs in Sofia.
Eastern Europe particularly affected
More than half of European countries have a problem with strays. Eastern Europe is the most affected. In addition to Bulgaria, FOUR PAWS is active in helping strays in Moldova, Romania, Ukraine and Kosovo. The animal welfare organization is also active in this area in South Africa and Southeast Asia.