First links in Romania

Naturewatch's initial trip in March 2004

During Naturewatch's visit to Romania in March this year, we found that the Romanian people to be very friendly and keen to improve the welfare of their animals. We met with officials from the State Veterinary Service, final year veterinary students and a representative of German welfare group Animals’ Angels who had researched conditions in livestock markets and border control posts. There are numerous individuals who look after strays, and are a few foreign-run organisations that help out, but there is no national welfare organisation. This is where we see a need – an efficient group that can liaise with Government officials, farmers and ordinary members of the public alike.

A traditional lifestyle - both good and bad for animal welfare

Most Romanian farms are run in traditional fashion, with horses used for transport and ploughing. Farm animals enjoy a free-range lifestyle and are happy and healthy, but livestock markets are primitive, often no more than a clearing in a forest, with no running water or feeding facilities. Staff are untrained in humane handling methods and slaughter is often done on the spot, with no pre-stunning. These traditional methods have been used for centuries and will take a long time to change – the challenge being, of course, to keep the free-range lifestyle.

Veterinary attention for working animals is also a major problem. In general, most working horses are in quite poor condition; we saw several suffering from malnutrition, while many had ill-fitting harnesses causing sores. At the end of their working lives, most horses are sold and transported hundreds of miles to Italy to be slaughtered for meat. Transport is poor, and falls far short of EU standards.

Romania hopes to join the EU in 2007, and so is obliged to transpose all EU laws into its national law. However, the authorities acknowledge the enormous task of enforcing these laws in a country where over 30 per cent of the human population is below the poverty line. There is a genuine desire to reach EU standards, but Romania is both one of the largest and one of the poorest European countries; both animals and people are in need. The prospects and challenges are exciting; we believe the establishment of a national society that can work with both the SVS and the farming community will be very important for the practical improvement of animal welfare standards in Romania.

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