Bulgaria: Stop the Dog spinning

BACKGROUND from CARE2

The ancient ritual known as “dog spinning” to ward off evil spirits has reappeared in a village in Bulgaria.

Dog spinning or “trichane” is a pagan ritual performed once a year on March 6 to prevent rabies in a village and keep away the bad spirits of springtime.

In dog spinning, a rope is wrapped around a dog and the animal is suspended above a body of water, such as a river. The dog is turned repeatedly until the rope is twisted as far as it will coil. Then the coil is released so the dog spins wildly as the rope unwinds and the animal falls into the water.

Nothing is supposed to happen to the dogs used in the ritual, but photos from previous dog spinning days show the faces of terrified animals as they hang helplessly above a river or stream with a crowd of people cheering from the shore.

In the past dogs have drowned because they are so disoriented when they drop into the water.

The practice was stopped in 2005, when the media outside of Bulgaria found out about the ritual and reported it to the world. Animal welfare organizations were outraged by its cruelty and the pressure they put on Bulgaria put an end to the practice.

Please beware the following video contains “graphic and disturbing content” of dog spinning 2011 

“In dog spinning, which is which is practiced each year at the beginning of March, a man’s “best friend” is suspended hight above water on a rope. The dog is wound up into a rope, then released so that the dog spins rapidly as rope unwinds, and the dog falls into the water”.

• PETITIONS:

Take Action Against Bulgarian Dog Spinning!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/33/take-action-against-bulgarian-dog-spinning/

Help to prevent the barbaric ritual “trichane” (dog spinning) from taking place again on March 6th, 2012

http://www.change.org/petitions/help-to-prevent-the-barbaric-ritual-trichane-dog-spinning-from-taking-place-again-on-march-6th-2012

• LETTER WRITING – FB EVENT

https://www.facebook.com/events/301992493195165/

Contacts

The President: press@president.bg

Prime Ministry: primeminister@government.bg

Ministry of Interior: http://www.mvr.bg/en/contactus.htm

Ministry of Culture: PRESS@MC.GOVERNMENT.BG

Parliament: infocenter@nt52.parliament.bg

Public relations : IPRD@government.bg

List of Bulgarian embassies abroad

http://www.buldir.com/bulgarian_embassies_abroad.html 

Dear Sir,

Dog spinning is a ritual performed once a year on March 6 to prevent rabies in a village and keep away the bad spirits of springtime.

The facts : a rope is wrapped around a dog and the animal is suspended above a body of water, such as a river. The dog is turned repeatedly until the rope is twistedas far as it will coil.
Then the coil is released so the dog spins wildly as the rope unwinds and the animal falls into the water.
People from this village believe, according to an ancient tradition, that the more the dog scatters its faeces the more the year will bring health and richness.

Nothing is supposed to happen to the dogs used in the ritual, but photos from previous dog spinning days show the faces of terrified animals as they hang helplessly above a river or stream with a crowd of people cheering from the shore. In the past dogs have drowned because they are so disoriented when they drop into the water.
There is considerable risk that the dog swallows the dirty water or get water in the lungs as they are totally disconcerted by the spin.

The dogs are also shocked and traumatized by the experience.
The ropes cut into the chest of the dog and hurt and are also squeezing the lungs. 

The practice was stopped in 2005 when the media outside of Bulgaria found out about the ritual and reported it to the world. Animal welfare organizations were outraged by its cruelty and the pressure they put on Bulgaria put an end to the practice.

But the mayor of Brodilovo, a rural Bulgarian village, has renewed the ancient ritual in 2011.
He said, “Nobody is killing or hurting the dogs. They are brought by their owners who love them in order to take part in this folklore ritual, which is meant to cleanse the local community of evil and to generate fertility. The dogs are spun for about 15-20 seconds, and then they fall in the water, which amounts to bathing them.”

Mayor Petko Arnaudov told the Sofia News Agency that “society and the international community has misinterpreted the ritual.”
The mayor said his village restored the tradition because they were looking for hope in the “extreme” bad economy. A recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease has brought the farming town to the brink of despair

The dog spinning event has pitted the town against animal advocates from all over Bulgaria. Even the Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov has condemned the practice.
He has asked the Prosecutor General to take action and called on his government to establish sanctions against the village.

Bulgaria’s Parliament recently amended their animal cruelty law to criminalize animal abuse. Serious fines and up to five years in prison can now be handed down to those who “injure an animal on purpose.”

Please order this municipality to respect the law : articles 6 and 7 of Bulgaria law on animals protection forbidden to inflict pain and suffering to animals, so Bulgaria must oblige to respect law and to protect animals. 

Sincerely,