Bulgarian Capital Sports 200,000 Unregistered Dogs

A homeless person playing with stray dogs in front of Parliament and the Council of Ministers in downtown Sofia. Photo by BGNES

Non-registered dogs residing in Bulgarian capital Sofia number as many as 200,000, according to data revealed by the Bulgarian Veterinary Union Monday.

This includes unaccounted stray dogs, but also dogs used to guard construction sites, as well as many of the dogs in Roma neighborhoods.

Some 20,000 dogs per year are being left on the streets in Sofia, estimates the study of the Veterinary union.

Specialists argued that the lack of a unified national register of dogs is one of the main obstacles for successfully tackling the problem.

Bulgarian ombudsman Konstantin Penchev concurred and said he would press responsible institutions to create such a register.

"I call to all institutions - never again say that it is the NGOs or citizens who are to blame for the stray dogs problem," said Penchev.

Vets further argued that recent ideas voiced by Sofia municipality to create a so-called "animal police" service lacks clarity in many important aspects, including types of experts it will involve, the financing it will get, and the species it will focus on.

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