site.btaStray Rights Activists Meet Sofia Mayor, Demand Improved Conditions at Municipal Dog Shelter

Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev met here Thursday stray rights activists and they demanded adequate action to contain the population of stay animals and improving conditions in the Ekoravnovesie municipal shelter. The Mayor told them that the problems at Ekoravnovesie "can only be addressed if we all work together", said the Sofia City Hall.

The animal rights activists held a protest outside the City Hall earlier in the day. 

The protestors demanded that the local authorities exercise their duties to control pet registration and identification, and hold a campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of neutering pet dogs. They also insisted that the neuter-and-return protocol be strictly observed when stray dogs are caught to be neutered.

The protestors told the Mayor that they had expected positive changes in the dog shelters would happen faster. 

The two sides discussed the direction that changes would take: adopting rules for access to the Ekoravnovesie clinic and all municipal shelters to ensure the safety of volunteers and animals; training the workers at the clinic and shelters; hiring additional workers and improving the work conditions and pay; tightening control over the humane treatment of animals; stepping up castration for strays and backyard dogs; holding monthly meetings of municipal representatives, Ekoravnovesie officials and volunteers to make sure there is feedback regarding the work of municipal shelters. The City Hall promised to improve control on dog breeding, chipping and taxing dog owners in a bid to end the perpetual expansion of the stray dog population.

The authorities also plan to hold more stray adoption campaigns, said the Sofia City Hall.