The number of reports of animal cruelty in Bulgaria is increasing, reported bTV.

Society is becoming more and more sensitive to aggression against animals but people do not always report to the emergency number 112.

15 pre-trial proceedings for violence against animals have been initiated since the beginning of the year throughout the country. Among them, so far is  the so-called ‘’horror  dog kennel’’ that was revealed 2 months ago in Varna. There were found 67 animals in terrible conditions, there were reports that dogs were killed and tortured. Survivors were accommodated in the Lucky Hunt Foundation shelter.

Despite the many signals from citizens, the case was revealed after the intervention of MEP Emil Radev.

"It is also very important here that the zoo (animal) police should start acting as we have thought it and we have to make a lot of effort to make it effective," Emil Radev commented.

Mr Radev quoted a statistic revealing that for 2012 the registered crimes against animals were 103 with only 21 being solved. The ratio for 2013 was 180 - 30, while for 2014 it was 181-31.

"We see that there must be a specialized unit to act in a very organized way...The ones who had molested an animal often do the same to people as well, " warned Emil Radev.

At present, 307  officers from the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior  are appointed for zoo servicemen.

Bulgarian animal welfare legislation is considered among the most progressive in the European Union. The Animal Protection Law, which entered into force in 2008, bans the use of wild mammals in circus, private keeping of big cats, apes and monkeys, as well as mass killing of stray animals as a method to control their population. Furthermore, in 2011 Bulgarian Parliament adopted changes in the Penal Code, which criminalise extreme forms of cruelty to animals and the organization of animal fights.