Stray dogs in the EU countries

Why do I refer to EU countries in my contribution?

"The European Union (EU) is a unique economic and political union of 27 European states."

I will only quote a few of the EU’s goals and values.

• promoting peace, European values and the well-being of its citizens

• Preservation and protection of the environment and improvement of its quality.

• Curbing social injustice and discrimination. Promoting social justice and social protection

But what is the reality? What about the preservation and protection of the environment, which I also include animals.

What about the promotion of social protection and justice?

Can we be proud of the EU’s achievements?

Personally, I think I have legitimate doubts.

In my contribution I would like to refer to the situation of animals in the member states of the EU, but also to the situation of people.

For me, the living conditions of humans and animals are closely related.

But how does membership affect individual countries?

Bulgaria, Slovakia, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Portugal and Poland occupy the top seven places among the poorest countries in the EU. In Bulgaria, 30% of the population is at risk of poverty. In Romania, 21% of the population lives in relative poverty.

In Greece, one in three people lives on the edge of poverty.

Romania, but also Greece and Italy have high populations of street dogs.

The situation in Italy is particularly telling. In the north of Italy there are few to no strays. The kennels are monitored and the dogs are well cared for. Calabria is the poorest region in Italy, and the situation of strays here is devastating.

The strays are housed in animal shelters, so-called caniles, which do not come close to meeting the standards we know from German animal shelters. The dogs live a miserable existence there without enough food and water, exposed to the cold and wet. Visitors are not allowed.

The connections between poverty and the existence of street dogs are obvious.

Where poverty reigns there is little respect for dogs as living creatures.

When I asked the European Commission to what extent they were paying attention to the situation of street dogs in the EU, I was told that they were aware of the situation. However, the welfare and treatment of stray animals is not regulated by EU law, but is the exclusive responsibility of the Member States.

But what is the situation of strays in EU member states?

In France, Estonia, Latvia, Ireland, Croatia, Portugal, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania the killing of street dogs is permitted, but in Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Poland, Slovenia and Spain it is not explicitly prohibited.

It is forbidden in Germany, Bulgaria, Greece, Holland, Italy, Austria, Lithuania, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Catalonia. However, the animal shelters in these countries often do not meet the standards that we know from Germany. The dogs are simply housed and bring in money for the operators.

In Romania, the killing of street dogs has become a business model from which animal shelter operators and dog catchers profit massively.

Animal shelters and killing stations receive considerable funding from the state.

The EU does not feel responsible. Poland, Romania and Hungary are among the EU's largest net recipients, closely followed by Greece, Slovakia, Croatia and Portugal.

The EU points out (see my question) that Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union states that animal welfare requirements must be taken fully into account in defining and implementing EU policies, but that it does not provide a legal basis for addressing all aspects of animal welfare.

In my opinion, the EU has failed to live up to its own values and goals; I would even say it has betrayed them.

In quite a few EU countries, a significant proportion of the population lives in poverty.

If you are poor, you cannot afford to have your dog neutered. The population of street dogs continues to grow. If you are poor, you cannot help strays, although there are many poor people in these countries who try to do so despite their personal needs.

Often it is only animal welfare organizations from home and abroad that try to improve the situation for the strays.

They rescue dogs from killing stations, carry out castration projects that offer the poorer part of the population the opportunity to have their dogs castrated free of charge, they do public relations work, and try to raise children's awareness of dogs as living creatures through information events in schools.

But where does the EU’s responsibility lie?

I expect the EU to embrace its values and stand up for their observance.

It does not fit with my idea of the tasks of a European Union to propagate values, to grant aid to countries that do not respect these values and not to link these aid to obligations.

That was always my idealistic idea of the European Union: equal rights and responsibilities for all, the promotion of a benevolent attitude towards people but also animals, the promotion of development towards greater prosperity and equality for people and animals.