Rallies against Animal Abuse Held Across Bulgaria

Diana Dukovska, Sofia Gospodinova

A rally against animal cruelty in Sofia, March 29, 2025 (BTA Photo/Nikola Uzunov)

Sofia,

29.03.2025 15:25

(BTA)

Rallies against cruelty to animals were held in Sofia and other Bulgarian cities and towns on Saturday. Calls for legislative changes and marches in defence of animals have been going on for two weeks now since a man and a woman were arrested for killing animals and selling the footage worldwide.

In the wake of that case, the government, politicians and professional organizations have been pushing for tougher animal cruelty legislation in Bulgaria.

Petya Ivanova, who joined the march in front of the Palace of Justice in Sofia, told BTA: "We are here to support animals because we love them. We want the maximum sentence [for the two animal abusers]."

"Violence in any form cannot be deemed normal - whether it is against people or animals, it must not be tolerated," said Magdalena Todorova, who was also at the protest.

Protesters in Sofia held slogans "Life sentence for the killers," "Violence against animals is a criminal offence" and "They can't tell their pain, but we can."

Nikolay Kyuchukov, who organized the protest in Burgas (on the Black Sea), stressed the need of reform in animal rights, including the introduction of control and a register of sales of animals, as well as a targeted budget for improving the qualifications of the services dealing with animal-related issues. "We are aware that these specific solutions are the best. There is a group of MPs who are managing a huge illegal animal trafficking ring, and the same people have illegal puppy mills. This has tipped the scale. This must end." He also said there had been 360 cases of animal cruelty and just nine persons convicted, with absurdly lenient sentences.

Protesters around the country said cruelty to animals is an ethical issue as well as a social one, since violence against animals can be a precursor to violence against humans. They called for harsher punishments, including long-term sentences for those who commit acts of cruelty.

Rallies were also held in Varna, Kazanlak, Razgrad, Pazardzhik, Kyustendil, Samokov, Haskovo and Blagoevgrad, among others.

/DD/