Sterilizing stray dogs postponed

The sterilization of stray dogs in Chisinau has been postponed for at least two months. The Romanian representatives of the Vier Pfoten foundation, who had sterilized some 30 dogs before Easter, cannot return to Moldova because of the visa regime imposed by the Moldovan authorities, said Gabriela Ciumac, the head of the Foreign Relations Division of the city hall, Info-Prim Neo reports. To get visas, the Romanians need an invitation issued by the Moldovan Interior Ministry within 30 days, but after getting the invitation, the Moldovan Consulate in Bucharest needs other 30 days. “When they heard the Vier Pfoten representatives have a contract with the Chisinau city hall, they told us issuing visas would take 45 days, not 30 as a rule,” Gabriela Ciumac added. Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca suggested the dogs to be sterilized by students being trained for veterinaries in Chisinau in order to keep the project financed buy the Austrian foundation running. The team from Romania was to sterilize by 35 dogs a day within two months, the project being financed from European funds. Vier Pfoten carried out similar campaigns in big cities from Bulgaria, Romania, Italy.