Civic activists who defend animal rights ask that half of the budget earmarked for the cleanup company Autosalubritate for next year should be transferred to animal shelters, to the Animal Protection Section of the Public Amenities Division and to projects intended for animals without owners, IPN reports.

The activists went to the December 15 meeting of the Chisinau Municipal Council, where the municipal budget for 2022 was being discussed, to accuse Autosalubritate of spending the allocations for the sterilization of stray dog in a non-transparent way and for the wrong purpose. They carried placards saying “Necropolis is a cemetery, not a sterilization center!”, “Councilors, don’t be accomplices to corruption!”.

Iana Verber, one of the activists, said that hundreds of dogs die at the Necropolis in Chisinau each month. Some of the municipal councilors are interested in allocating more funds to Autosalubritate, which manages the Necropolis. “The Necropolis works without a sanitary certificate and this means that an infected dog can cause a pandemic in the city at any moment. Everyone knows that the Necropolis is a “concentration camp” where the animals are badly maintained and die there due to injuries,” stated the activist.

Activist Lidia Vinogradova accused Autosalubritate of not ensuring transparency in spending, suggesting that half of the earmarked allocations, of 4 million lei, are enough to pay salaries to the employees of the Necropolis and to improve the conditions for keeping the dogs. The other half should be transferred to animal shelters and to animal population control programs.

In a press release, Autosalubritate says almost 300 animals died so far this year, but not due to the inappropriate conditions, hunger, thirst or neglect of employees, as some of the activists assert, but to a disease that is transmitted by tick bites and due to the old age of the animals.

“Ten new cages were built last year at the Necropolis on an area of 800 square meters with the City Hall’s consent. About 450 dogs can be housed there. All the cages have wooden boxes and containers for food and water. Each day the dogs are given fresh water and special animal food (350 grams per capita in winter and 450 grams per capita during the warm period of the year) in accordance with the regulations approved by the Municipal Council,” noted Autosalubritate.

About 500 stray dogs are currently kept at the municipal sterilization center.