Sofia Deputy Mayor Ready to Resign over Stray Dogs Outrage
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Maria Boyadzhiyska, Deputy Mayor of Bulgaria's capital Sofia, has declared that she is ready to resign over the city's unresolved stray dogs issue.
On Sunday, representatives of animal rights NGOs demanded Boyadzhiyska's resignation, stating that her efforts since stepped in office in 2009 have led to increasing rather than decreasing the population of stray dogs in the capital.
The Sofia municipality had taken all possible measures to deal with the problem, but the program intended to decrease the number of Sofia's stray dogs was ruined by environmentalist groups last year, Boyadzhiyska has explained, as cited by the Bulgarian National Television.
Boteo Tachkov, an 88-year-old renowned economist, was brutally attacked by a large pack of stray dogs in the Malinova Dolina quarter in the Bulgarian capital at the end of last month.
The horrific accident triggered public outrage, as the city has been struggling to cope with its increasing stray dog population for years now.
There are about 10 000 officially registered stray dogs in Sofia, even though some believe the number to be much higher.
Prior to being reelected at the end of October 2011, Mayor Yordanka Fandakova vowed to "cut down in half the number of stray dogs in the Bulgarian capital the next two years." Boyadzhiyska is Fandakova's Deputy responsible for the environment.
Currently, the procedure for stray dogs in Sofia is neutering them and then leaving them back at the places where they were caught.
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In a letter of 9 August 2012 to mayor Fandykova, Animal Programs Foundation already proposed deputy-mayor Bojadzhijska to be quickly fired. But no reply. In fact, Bojadzhijska is just one of the few persons acting between 2006 and 2012 who are responsible about pouring 7,000,000 leva in the "managing dog overpopulation", and the fate of 26,000 dogs missing that were reportedly caught by the Sofia animal control services in favor of illegal animal dealers. Shame on you, Mrs. Fandykova! -- Emil D. Kuzmanov
@ Pam
If people here in Burgas WERE abandoning their dogs, then it stands to reason that a stray dog problem would exist, which it doesn't.. For example, today I walked 8 kms through the Sea Garden to the port & back again, and saw not one stray, but MANY people walking their pets, ALL of them well-groomed pure-breeds.. This has been my experience here, no exception..
Draw your own conclusion, but it is no accident that Burgas is voted the most livable city in Bg.. Sofia doesn't bear thinking about..
It is not just Sofia, but everywhere in Bulgaria and until it is made a criminal offence to mistreat and abandon dogs into the streets starve your horses and donkeys etc then these irresponsible owners will just continue to do so.
I have lived here for 7 years now and in every town and village....there they are, roaming around lost, starving, injured, abused and neglected.
Until PEOPLE are made responsible for the things that they do, this will just carry on when the dogs are not wanted...turfed out into the streets to fend for themselves. No wonder they attack people....they are starving and afraid !!
I already have 7 dogs living at my home...all rescued from the streets of Bulgaria, plus I feed 9 more living in the streets every day or else they too would starve.
It is a huge indictment on the character of the people of this country when they can watch another living being slowly starve to death and seemingly not care.
Where is your compassion Bulgaria?
In Bourgas, do they punish people who dump their unwanted pets into the street? I hope so, and I hope the punishment is severe, as this is a major part of the homeless dog problem all over the rest of Bulgaria. Those who dump their pets into the streets should be held accountable when someone is bitten by a homeless dog. What disgusting human behavior has led to the street dog problem!!!!
