Stray dogs won’t be taken from Chisinau’s streets to the Sterilization Compound until proper statutes are in place to regulate its work. Such is the understanding reached between the municipality and animal rights activists, who claimed that some dogs were being treated inhumanely or even killed brutally at the Compound. Acting Mayor Ruslan Codreanu promised to put up the regulation for the City Council’s consideration at its next meeting.

A group of activists protested today outside the City Hall claiming that even healthy dogs were being “killed and buried with bulldozers” at the Compound. As there is no transparent log in place to record the animals brought in, no one can tell how many are actually released after sterilization. The activists also complain that conditions at the Compound are unsanitary and that often dogs are left to starve to death.

The activists suggested that volunteers or paid specialists who know how to treat an animal should take the job of catching stray dogs over from the municipal waste management agency Autosalubritate.

Karl Luganov, president of the NGO “Humane Society”, says adopting a proper regulation for the Center is crucial for many of these issues. It is also important that volunteers are given access inside the Compound to see how the animals are being treated.

Eugeniu Axentiev, director of Autosalubritate, has welcomed the idea of a vet clinic taking over the responsibility of catching stray dogs. He also agreed to let a group of volunteers inspect the Compound anytime daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Sterilization Compound was opened four months ago. The municipality allocated about 400,000 lei.