Animal rights activists call on the mayor general of Chisinau municipality Ion Ceban to build a large shelter for aggressive animals without owners, who cannot be left on the street as they are considered dangerous, and for abandoned and injured animals who can yet recover.

In a news conference at IPN, the head of the interethnic cultural and human rights protection society Eduard Volkov, expert in political sciences, said that on December 12 last year he notified the mayor general of the violations admitted by municipal functionaries responsible for the capture of animals, but received no response so far.

According to the activist, contrary to the undertaken public commitments, even earlier sterilized animals are caught without reason. During the past two months, the animals taken to the sterilization center haven’t been released in the places where they were caught. There are by 80-100 dogs in the center’s cages. The area is too small and the animals do not enjoy appropriate care. It is presumed that about 600 tame animals who pose no threat are held at the center.

A part of the captured animals are killed, while others die after the neutering procedure performed by inexperienced students who are not even assisted by a qualified veterinarian.

Eduard Volkov urged the mayor not to listen to the chiefs of the cleanup company “Autosalubritate” and the animal sterilization center and other officials in charge who propose amending the regulations on animals that were adopted last September. If these are amended, the ban on the euthanizing of caught animals that are healthy, but are not adopted should be kept.

Valentina Dudnic, president of the Association ALGA, said the place where the sterilization center is located in Chisinau, on a hill at the end of Uzinelor St, is not suitable. The center lacks a veterinarian and a kinologist and its employees do not have a salary that would motivate them to take care of the animals.

The activists ask the Chisinau City Hall to penalize the functionaries who do not fulfill their duties and not to allow the regulations approved by the Chisinau Municipal Council last September to be violated. They also request to transfer the duties related to stray animals from the cleanup company “Autosalubritate” to the specialized section of the General Public Amenities Division, to replace the administration of the sterilization center and to hasten the compilation of a database of neutered animals.