Stray animals situation in Romania

Romania is not only notorious for the large population of street animals but also animal welfare issue, arising from conditions within public shelters.
Many publications address the problems related to dozens of dogs living on the street and highlight the struggle faced by charities to reduce the number of stray dogs through neutering programs. These attempts to corner the stray population are unfortunately without much success as daily dozens of females give birth to more puppies that further increase the number of strays within the community.
The situation regarding cats in Romania is similar to that of dogs with large number currently living on the street. As cats are not considered as problematic as dogs, they do not receive as much publicity.
Sava's Safe Haven is one of the charities that try to reduce the number of street animals through neutering projects. The charity also focuses upon improving conditions and animal welfare matters in the poor villages.


Sometimes people in urban areas contact organizations for support but this is rarely the case regarding older people of those living in rural environments. As an animal shelter we receive daily phone calls from people asking for our support, only 1 in 10 calls came from people living outside the immediate area. In some cases, people simply abandoned their dogs in front of the shelter or nearby fields.
As the shelter is located between two villages within the Galati District it is however possible to communicate with people living in these places.
During our spay/neutering campaign Sava's Safe Haven faces many problems caused by lack of education regarding animal welfare.
Many people brought their animals without realizing what sterilization involved. Most of them came to benefit from the facilities offered by the organization such as dog food, flea treatments and collars.
We realize that many people would never contemplate bringing an animal to a vet, until the last moment due to lack of money or lack of veterinary clinics close to them. Many ill animals are left in agony unless they get real help in time, but for the less fortunate animals help never comes or it is simply too late.
Sava’s Safe Haven in Romania

Our Team

Oana

Gabriel

Adrian
