Barbarism in Bulgaria
Written by Thijs
Maybe it's because we grew up in western European countries, or perhaps we spent too much time in big cities, but we're sometimes shocked and appalled by the barbaric ways of dealing with wild life and the treatment of pets in Bulgaria.
Focusing on the positive side can be tough when half the neighborhood has their dogs on a short chain 24/7, barking and whining day and night, never taking the dog out for a walk and feeding them bread with water.
The first time we drove into Domlyan, onto the main square and passed the supermarket, I saw a young girl. About 8 or 9 years old, chucking rocks at a dog on the street.
Checking the rearview window, I asked Natascha to stop the car. Jumping out I released a loud "Hey!" and the girl dropped more rocks and ran into the supermarket.
February 2021, late afternoon, I was preparing the garden for heavy snowfall. About 50 meters away I saw 2 neighborhood ladies, my age or a bit younger, chatting enthusiastically and looking at a tree.
One of these "ladies" threw something at the tree and giggled.
Then I noticed something was hanging in the tree. Since it was sunny with some snow coverage, I couldn't focus and started walking towards the front garden.
The ladies said goodbye to each other and moved on, while I reached our front gate to check what was hanging in the tree.
At first I thought it was a large dead rabbit or haze... but then... it moved it's head and I could clearly see it was a living fox. Hanging upside down, with its back paw on an steel wire, deliberately hung from a tree to die slowly.
Seeing this, I sprinted back inside, grabbed a large cat transport container and yelled out for Natascha to come and help.
One of the so called ladies was watching me struggle to get the fox in the container, while Natascha brought me tools to cut the wire. The neighbor said something, smiled and walked away.
I got the fox in the container, so his full weight wasn't hanging on its leg anymore. Natascha took over the container, but my tools spooked the fox, so I decided to break off the branch.
The fox' leg was still hanging out of the container, so we immediately removed the wire and closed the container.
We consulted the almighty internet and quickly found an organization that was willing to help the fox. Since it's not allowed to rescue foxes in Bulgaria, this organization can't be named.
The organization sent out a girl from Sofia, and we agreed to meet her halfway on the Trakya Highway.
It was 17:00 when we left from Domlyan, at 18:00 it started snowing, at 19:00 we transferred the fox into the girl's car.
Snow at that point was so crazy, flying sideways with a visibility of less than 10 meters, it took us 2 hours to drive back 60 kilometers.
We received one update from the organization, the fox was shot multiple times, hale in it's head and spine, most probably a broken leg and maybe more broken bones.
We didn't receive any replies anymore after that... so we figure the worst...
Madonna after an hour cleaning session.
We never make video or photo's during a rescue. Only the aftermath, when the animal is safe and secure.
Even if I had a cameraman, most videos would probably end with me ordering every spare hands to help handle the situation.
Snare from which the fox hung upside down from a tree
Karlovo train station. Zoom in if you don't see what's wrong here.
What we know about our cats:
- Hercules was thrown out of the window of a moving car in Plovdiv. Natascha witnessed this and brought him home. It took months, but he survived Parvo! :)
- Lillith was left in a box, about 4 weeks old, on the main road of Domlyan, next to an abandoned school. It was pure coincidence Natascha found her.
- Pandora was gone for about a week and came back with her fur covered in dried up blood. During cleaning, we found the cause. She was snared around her belly, catching everything above her back legs. Her spine was slightly damaged and her belly was cut a few centimeters. It seemed someone released her, so at least that person didn't finish her off... but snaring is not allowed and simply torture, so fuck that person.
- Charles and Dr. Dre both got shot with hale in their head. Both cases during hunting season, which is about half the year. Luckily both are very hard headed and doing fine.
- Alexander, Athena, Pompey & Sophia were barely a couple of weeks old, when someone left them at our gate on a hot summer morning. The doorbell wasn't used, so we were unaware... no clue how long they were waiting. We found them early afternoon, covered in fleas, malnourished and no sign of a mother cat. It took us 3 weeks of constant observation, bottle feeding and cleaning, before being sure they'd make it.
- Madonna was found meowing from a garbage container by Natascha. Her neck was covered in dried up blood and one eye was almost closed off with mucus. Fleas and malnourished to the bone. It's impossible for a healthy kitten to climb in a garbage container, so someone put her there. 2 hours later a heavy rainstorm came over, which would've drowned her.
- Ozzy found in an nearly empty garbage container.
- Catherine was left outside during a cold and snowy winter night, while already seriously ill... both her brother and sister died the week before... We asked the neighbor to keep the kitten indoors, or at least in her garden. But watching the same neighbor leave by car while the kitten was already back on the street, made the decision easy to take her in.
- Freya, brought in by the same neighbor. long story
- Newborn puppy Dominus Rex, long story
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