ROLDA is a group of
animal lovers from Romania who are fighting for animal rights. These members
are born with the full conviction to help and improve the life of stray dogs
which live in "a small part of Hell." These dogs must suffer each
day of their lives. The only chance these homeless dogs will have is a shelter
in which they can live. The people are insensitive to the humanitarian efforts
of animal lovers who want to stop the massive slaughter. Due to the economic
crises, those who would buy lamb for the Easter holiday will sometimes buy
meat from the Gypsies who kill street dogs and sell the meat of the dead dogs'
bodies. The staff of ROLDA have allegedly accused a sanitation inspector with
giving poisoned pieces of meat to street dogs around his apartment in Galati.
They tell of shocking images of dogs hanged with barbed wire, street dogs
screaming from pain caused by poison.
The Romanian Government
has just passed a new law in which all breeds of dogs have been divided into
categories. One group that includes pit bulls and Rottweilers must
"disappear" from Romanian territory. During the festival season
which starts at the beginning of May each year, there are abuses that are
heaped upon monkeys, bear cubs, lion and tiger cubs, and camels, which can be
found on the beaches and the hottest sand of the Romanian seaside -- in every
tourist village on the Black Sea. The owners of these animals walk the poor
animals on the beach from morning until late at night to make photo souvenirs.
The animals are not given food or water during the entire hot summer day.
The staff's words are
heart-wrenching in their simplicity: "These are images 'speaking' about a
cruelty that even in Hell doesn't happen. Too bad we arrive in this savage
stage of living. Is there anything in this world that may determine people to
stop causing so much pain around them? Please know that somewhere very far
away in Romania, a dog is suffering: starving, freezing, tormented, and
finally killed."
To learn more about
ROLDA, you can visit their web
site, or send them email. (Note:
Be warned that images posted on the ROLDA site show explicit examples of
cruelty to animals.)
nimals
in Romania