The stray dogs that were taken from the streets of Bucharest to shelters were not euthanized, and the measure is only a last resort one, according to the Authority for Animal Surveillance and Protection ASPA, quoted by Mediafax.

The strategy is rather to take the stray dogs from the streets, sterilize them and them give them for adoption. The law, enforced in 2013, allows for authorities to euthanize stray dogs if nobody adopts them within a certain time frame. The law stirred both local and international reactions, which called it cruel and a ticket to mass murders.

The Bucharest municipality has 800 places for stray dogs, 200 at its Theodor Pallady shelter, and 600 at Mihailesti, at the outskirts of Bucharest.

Elsewhere in Romania however euthanizing stray dogs has already started, or will soon commence: in Buzau, it started on January 10, and in Timisoara, it could start this week. In Buzau, 60 dogs were put to sleep in the first four days, and 70 more were to have the same fate if not adopted in due time.

The legal deadline for a dog to be adopted in a shelter is of 14 days after being brought to that shelter. Long distance adoption is also possible, provided the person who adopts the dogs covers their expenses.

editor@romania-insider.com