Dog skull protest at City Hall

A dozen of persons or so gathered on Monday outside the Chisinau City Hall building, holding several dog skulls in their hands and shouting “Chirtoaca the Butcher!”, to protest what they believe to be the cruel treatment of stray dogs by the city authorities and Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca in particular, Info-Prim Neo reports. The protesters, mainly members of the organization Casa Noastra Chisinau, alleged the City Hall workers were killing stray dogs mercilessly. Several passers-by, however, stopped to contradict the protesters, arguing the homeless dogs were a threat, especially to children, and therefore must be exterminated. The Motorsanitation division, the municipal agency responsible for catching dogs, claims only sick dogs are killed, while the rest are transported to the compound for sterilization. A new project to build an animal shelter is underway and the plot for it has already been alloted by the municipality. 6 crews patrol the city each day to catch the homeless dogs. The existing compound can host some one thousand dogs more. About 5,000 to 6,000 dogs are caught each year and after sterilization many of them are freed, it was said. Recently, the Union of Dog Breeders and Casa Noastra Chisinau, headed by municipal councilor Oleg Onisenco, opened a sterilization center for the stray dogs, but they insist the municipal budget should provide the financing.