site.btaCensus Shows Nearly 20,000 Strays Live in Varna

Nearly 20,000 strays live in Varna and only 1,812 of them are dogs, said the Varna municipal press centre on Monday, citing data from the 2024 census of stray animals conducted in the seaside city.

The census was carried out in October and November 2024, in implementation of a National Program for controlling the population of stray dogs. 34 teams consisting of people with experience in medicine, ecology, data processing and technical sciences were involved in the census.

The last such census was conducted in 2016, with the results indicating that between then and 2024, the population of stray dogs has increased by 25% and the population of cats by about 85% every two years. Thus, the number of stray cats in the municipality already exceeds 17,700.

Large-scale neutering programmes are needed to deal with the city's increased strays population, concluded the census report. The Municipality added that it is necessary to conduct awareness campaigns among people on how to care well for their pets, including neutering, as well as various campaigns to encourage adoptions of strays. The introduction of mandatory registration of all pets and the setting of fines for abandoning animals are also part of the recommended measures.