Bulgaria - dogs dragged behind cars, shot for 'trophy' photos, no justice is served!

Welcome to Bulgaria, where there is almost no value for the lives of the animals. Activists had the hope that once the country joined the European Union in 2007, things will take a turn for the better. Their hopes were shattered when the government ordered a massive culling of the stray dogs, without even considering humane options such as ‘spay-and-neuter’ campaigns first. Then there is a so-called ‘dog spinning festival’ in the eastern part of the country, where terrified dogs are sprung up a rope high in the air and left to spin until they fall – on the ground or into a river. The tradition is supposed to cure dogs from rabies.

Then there are individual cases – two notorious ones come to mind right now – illustrated in the photos above. The first one, on the right, shows a dog that was callously dragged for a few miles behind his owner’s car, because he had made a mess in the house. After pulling over, the owner threw his pet into a ditch and walked away like nothing was wrong. In spite of substantial publicity and calls for justice, the heartless owner got away with a suspended jail term and a 500 EURO  ($530) fine.

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The man on the right shot a neighbor’s dog and posed for a ‘trophy photo’ with a huge smile on his face. He claims he did it because he genuinely disliked dogs and warned his neighbors several times to keep their pooches off his property. In spite of massive public outrcry, he ended up walking away with a slap on the wrist as well.

Not a single convinction for such abuses has been imposed in Bulgaria, despite the fact that there have been plenty of them.

Art. 325 of the Bulgarian penal code states that anyone that intentionally hurts animals can face a penalty of up to three years in prison / or and a fine of up to 2, 500 EURO ($3, 000).

Unfortunately, the law is only on paper, and the maximum penalty is never imposed.

Please show your support in an attempt to push for harsher laws in Bulgaria. We, the undersigned, believe that any person caught hurting an animal in any way should receive mandatory jail time, no questions asked. It is our view that this would be an extremely effective way to put an end to the suffering of so many animals in Bulgaria.

Help make a difference for the Bulgarian animals – sign and share now!