Stray dogs are a common sight in Romania, and are often seen wandering the streets and parks, surviving off scraps of food left out for them. The Bucharest government is now mandating that stray dogs be trapped and killed. Guardians of Rescue, a United States animal rescue organization, whose mission is to help all animals in need, is refusing to standby and allow thousands of abandoned, stray dogs, to be killed.
Previously, the Romanian government only allowed stray dogs to be killed if the animal was sick, but the number of stray dogs has been increasing, now estimated to be over 60,000 dogs overcrowding shelters and roaming the streets.
The new legislation will allow for thousands of innocent animals to be killed, regardless of whether or not they are violent or sick, if not adopted within fourteen days of being placed in a shelter.
“It is a tragedy that these faultless animals, whose only crime is being alive, must suffer the consequences of inadequate policies and indifferent and careless humans,” says Robert Misseri, president of New York based Guardians of Rescue. “With a proper spaying, neutering, and adoption program in place, this situation would not be as dire as it has become. It is now time to have a ‘Call to Arms’ in Bucharest, and ask everyone to take a stand for these strays, as the end result would be good for everyone, not just the animals,” he says.
Guardians of Rescue is urging everyone to take action now. The organization is planning a protest on October 25 from 12-6 p.m. at the Romanian Consulate in NYC. Guardians of Rescue is coordinating with friends in LA to protest on the same day and is urging people to join them and bring signs. The fate of thousands of innocent, homeless animals is on the line. The Guardians of Rescue hopes that anyone able to take part in this mass adoption will do so, and anyone able to aid in helping make changes for the good of the animals to please get involved, the sooner the better. These innocent dogs have run out of time.
“Dogs in Romania are being shot, stabbed, hung and skinned with no punishment to the people performing it,” affirms Dori Scofield, vice president of Guardians of Rescue. “They are mass murdering and barbarically killing the dogs legally and we must take a stand against such atrocities.”
To learn more about Guardians of Rescue, visit the site at www.guardiansofrescue.org.