The authorities continue to bear their responsibility after the tragedy in Lacul Morii, where a woman died after being attacked by dogs. District 6 City Hall says ASPA requires local police to check and fine owners of dogs that are not microchipped or neutered, although “of course ASPA has the authority.”

Garden dogsPhoto: DreamsTime
  • “In its appeals to Local Police Sector 6, ASPA asks the local police to ‘order checks to identify and sanction, if necessary, owners in the specified areas who have dogs that are not microchipped and sterilized in accordance with GEO 155/ 2001.’ . ASPA also clarifies that “it does not have the necessary powers to check and apply sanctions to animal owners for compliance with the law. WRONG!”, reads a statement from the District 6 City Hall, as quoted by News.ro.
  • “The detection of offenses and the application of sanctions are carried out in appropriate cases by authorized persons in accordance with their duties of the National Sanitary and Veterinary Administration and the Administration of Food Safety, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as inspectors of specialized services for the management of stray dogs from administrative-territorial units, in accordance with methodological rules the application of this emergency order,” said the Sector 6 City Hall, referring to Article 15 of the law referred to by ASPA (OG 155/2001), in a press release.

Thus, according to the quoted source, in Bucharest the specialized service for the management of stray dogs is ASPA itself, which must coordinate with the local police of the Municipality of Bucharest, both subordinate to the PMB. This institution, through the Animal Police Service, has the legal competence to initiate control of the sterilization and microchipping of dogs and to apply sanctions for violations in this case.

When local county police will be on duty in dog situations, according to District 6 City Hall:

  • “For the release or uncontrolled release of animals that may pose a danger to people or cargo. Only when the owner is known
  • The sector’s local police do not have a scanner to read the microchip, if any, and do not have access to the database of registered dogs, as this is in excess of their remit;
  • For not keeping domestic dogs on a leash in public;
  • For failure to present a medical card when the owner walks the dog in public;
  • Due to lack of cleaning materials. Bags in which the owner collects the dog’s feces in public,” the mentioned source also indicates.

The mayor’s office of sector 6 adds that all this was explained to ASPA representatives at a joint meeting with the management of the local police sector 6 on 19.10.2022: “Because the local police of the sector cannot issue fines for without sterilization and microchipping, the working method adopted has been established ASPA”.

District 6 City Hall refers to an appeal dated 30/09/2022 to the local police of District 6 and Mayor Cipriana Chuka, in which ASPA made a request following the incident in April when Ana Oros Daraban was attacked by a pack of dogs, and considering the subsequent notification of people in this area, applying sanctions to property owners in this area, if necessary.

According to the response sent by the Metropolitan City Hall to HotNews.ro’s request, ASPA representatives said that from September to December 2022, they asked the 6th sector of the local police to help them in case of complaints to establish the owners of the land where the dogs have sought shelter several times and to obtain a permit to pick up the animals, but no response was received

  • “According to the law, ASPA can only capture dogs from public areas and is not allowed to enter private areas. That is why Local Police Sector 6 can identify the owners of these lands and require permission to operate on private land.
  • Or can apply sanctions to owners for improper fencing of private lands, according to HCGMB no. 120/2010, so that dogs can no longer enter and leave private areas of public use, thus posing a danger to citizens,” said the response sent by the capital city hall at the time.

Read also:

  • Inability of the authorities to get rid of packs of dogs in sector 6 / How the authorities take care of their responsibility
  • ASPA DOCUMENT, District 6 local police prevented the collection of dogs in the Lakul Moriya area in September
  • ANALYSIS Why a man died after being mauled by dogs in Bucharest in 2023 and why another tragedy could happen at any time
  • What was the budget of ASPA last year, an institution in the capital city hall that deals with homeless dogs. Who manages the institution and what are the salaries