The necropolis in Chisinau, where a sterilization center was set up, is not a shelter for animals, said a number of civic activists. Among them is Lidia Vinogradova, who noted that serious violations of the regulations concerning the keeping of domestic animals and animals without shelter are daily committed there. In a news conference at IPN, Lidia Vinogradova said the violations start with the capture of dogs, which is not performed at the indicated addresses. They catch already sterilized dogs that are small and quiet, instead of aggressive dogs. There are cases when dogs marked as sterilized give birth to young. There are by three-four dogs on a square meter of space at the necropolis and this is too much. The animals struggle for food, cause injuries to each other and die. Some are hurt on the way to the necropolis. They transport by four dogs in one cage instead of one dog. The cage is not fixed and the animals suffer injuries.

According to Lidia Vinogradova, the sterilization center does not have a veterinarian even if the administration of the necropolis for multiple times had the possibility of hiring good specialists. The vehicles that transport animals to the necropolis are outfitted with GPS, but the system is switched off and the route cannot be followed. The dogs are set free on other addresses so as to create situations of chaos in yards and the people file complaints so that they could ask for higher budget allowances for dealing with the problem. They have evidence showing that captured dogs are set free on the periphery or outside the city.

Animal rights defender Diana Iularji said the National Food Safety Agency has the power to penalize the administration of the necropolis for the committed violations, but does not do it. Last October, animal rights advocates staged a protest in front of the Agency’s building and after this six inspectors of the Agency carried out a new inspection at the necropolis and identified 19 serious violations. Any other enterprise would have been closed until the situation was improved.

Volunteer Tatiana Nicorici, animal rights defender, noted the situation at the necropolis was intentionally overlooked by mayor of Chisinau Ion Ceban. In September 2019, when Ceban ran for mayor, he undertook to adopt the regulations concerning the keeping of domestic animals and animals without shelter. Almost two years have passed, but the situation didn’t change event if an Animal Control and Protection Section was set up as part of the Public Amenities Division. The cleanup company “Autosalubritate”, which runs the necropolis, violates the regulations. The sterilization center hasn’t performed neutering operations for months as there is no veterinarian there. Even if funds are spent, the number of stray dogs didn’t decrease and the problem wasn’t solved.