Ok Brigitte, It's Time to Break Out the Bunny Suits

April 13, 2001 Bucharest, Romania

Well, I just stuck my paw in my mouth.  About an hour after publishing yesterday's "UPDATE: 'Terrorists' vs. Research Lab", in which I'd extolled the virtues of diplomacy and the Gandhian nonviolent resistance, guess what comes in over the newswire:

"Romanian Dog Slaughter to Start After Easter" (Agence France Presse)

Wait a minute, you're saying.  What about "Go Romania! 700 Dogs adopted" and "Brigitte Bardot Saves 100,000 Dogs"?

It's all true, but apparently 1,900 dogs adopted in the last month is not sufficient.  Municipal  official Razvan Tiru confirmed City Hall's plan to proceed with the massive dog extermination that had been scheduled to begin in March, but was intercepted by celebrity Brigitte Bardot's animal welfare campaign on the night before.

Mr. Tiru admits that the public support of the stray dogs has been impressive, but he says, "The number of people wanting to look after a dog is dropping.  That is why we have decided not to delay the euthanasia campaign any longer."

The cull of the city's 200,000 roaming dogs will begin after Easter.

The Scoop is currently researching what can be done.  Please check back for updates.

Update, April 18, 2001: Please visit Animaux Sans Frontières for excellent coverage of the situation, as well as many easy ways you can help. 

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