Stray animal populations are a huge animal welfare issue in Europe, and Romania, the second poorest country in the European Union, has one of the largest stray animal populations on the continent, with a rough estimate of up to 500,000 dogs and likely even more stray cats living in this country. While each day on the streets is a struggle to survive, the ever-growing population also cause the citizens significant issues: from the risk of dog bites to the transmission of zoonotic diseases, pollution, and noise, resulting in negative attitudes and behaviours towards stray animals.

While the municipalities are legally obliged to assign funds to stray animal management programmes, decision-makers often lack the expertise and will to set up these programmes effectively and efficiently. Sadly, the killing of strays is still legal and frequently practised to reduce overpopulation: without lasting results but with enormous suffering. Also, inhumane housing in public and private shelters is continuously employed as a quick fix to dealing with the issue. The unwanted dogs often end up in these places and either live out their lives in deplorable conditions with very little hope of ever being adopted or are euthanised.

FOUR PAWS aims to deliver strategic and sustainable stray animal projects that are community-led, and this is why we focus on only a few municipalities simultaneously for a longer period of time. In these municipalities, we work with the following components:

• Monitoring, Evaluation and Impact, to understand dog population sizes and dynamics;
• Community Engagement, so the community has the knowledge, skills and expertise to develop a long-term stray animal programme;
• Catch-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return, to reduce the stray populations and improve the life of animals living on the streets;
• Responsible Pet Ownership, because raising awareness amongst (future) pet owners is key;
• Shelter Adoption Programme, to improve the conditions in local shelters and promote local adoptions;
• Animal Assisted Interventions, to change attitudes and behaviour towards stray animals.

Additionally to our strategic community engagement-based projects, we occasionally visit remote communities for short-term projects to provide veterinary care.