Economy
How Bucharest Ended Up With One of the World's Worst Stray Dog Problems
64,000 feral dogs roam the Romanian capital's streets. But getting that population under control is a physical and political challenge.
It seems the stray dogs of Bucharest have been holding back the Romanian capital’s attempts to reshape itself as a modern European metropolis.
According to the city government, a staggering 64,000 feral dogs live on Bucharest’s streets, giving the metro area, population 2.3 million, more than twice as many street dogs per capita as Detroit, its closest U.S. rival. Last week, a stray dog debate that had previously been more about public health, animal welfare and Bucharest’s image took a tragic, urgent turn, when a 4-year-old boy died after being mauled by a dog pack. Following an understandable public outcry, Bucharestians will vote on October 6 on whether or not to allow euthanasia for the city's entire stray dog population.