site.bta Bulgaria Sets up Animal Police Service

Bulgaria Sets up Animal Police Service

Sofia, July 2 (BTA) -Bulgaria has taken the first steps towards
the establishment of an animal police service with an order
signed by Interior Minister Roumyana Buchvarova on June 25 this
year EPP/GERB MEP Emil Radev said at a briefing in Parliament
Thursday. The order provides that pretrial proceedings on
animal-related cases will be assigned to certain Interior
Ministry employees who will specialize in providing assistance
to the investigation. These will include a regular police
officer and an investigator. The teams will be trained in the
Netherlands with the help of NGOs like the Four Paws Foundation.
 

The new unit will not require additional financial resources
from the Interior Ministry budget. The teams will begin work
this autumn.
   
The specialized units will help speed up the process of
investigation of crimes against animals, Radev noted. Statistics
 to date show that 21 of the 103 such crimes registered in 2012
were resolved, 30 of the registered 180 in 2013 and 35 of those
registered in 2014.
   
Brutality against animals also leads to brutality against
people, Yavor Gechev of the Four Paws Foundation said. He noted
that the establishment of animal police is important not only
for the protection of the animals, but also for the development
of civic society in this country. The entire public should
cooperate to ensure the good work of the animal police, he said.
 
   
An agreement between the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of
Agriculture and Food will also be signed in connection with the
establishment of the unit because the Animal Protection Act is
within the jurisdiction of the agricultural authority, GERB MP
Tsveta Karayancheva explained.