Hungary
Killshelters
In Hungary, as in other Eastern European countries, it is required by law that stray dogs must be caught and then taken to killing stations.
There, the dogs can be killed (legally) after a maximum period of 45 days if they are not picked up by a possible owner or adopted by someone. Dogs on the list in particular have little chance of leaving the killing stations alive - they are often killed (illegally) immediately upon arrival without waiting for the 45-day period. Fearful dogs and large or black dogs also have almost no chance .
In the killing stations, the dogs go through hell even during their “gallows period” – completely frightened and stressed, they sit in small, bare cells , bitterly cold in winter, unbearably hot in summer, provided with only the bare necessities and surrounded by equally stressed and constantly barking conspecifics.
The killings themselves are – as we know from reliable sources – rarely carried out by a veterinarian, but mostly in unimaginably cruel ways , including using electricity, in order to increase “profit”.
In Hungary alone there are 2,000 legal and an unknown number of illegal killing stations.
Local animal rights activists are fighting tirelessly at the political level against the killing system and are also trying to get as many dogs as possible out of the killing stations before they are killed.
This can only succeed if the respective killing station is willing to cooperate (which is not always the case) AND if an adoption or foster placement has already been confirmed for the dog in question or if the dog can be placed in an animal shelter that is run for animal welfare reasons and in which no killing takes place, such as our partner animal shelter in Kondoros.
Since adoptions are almost non-existent in Hungary, most dogs are dependent on being adopted abroad (in wealthier countries), especially in Germany, Austria or Switzerland.
We have been on site several times with the animal welfare workers from PCAS and together we have been able to rescue several dogs from various killing stations and place them in wonderful homes in Austria and Germany, where they have been given the chance for a new, real life.
It is impossible to describe the feeling you get as a human being when you stand in front of these kennels, look into the frightened eyes of these dogs and try for a brief moment to satisfy their urgent need for affection and attention by touching them through the bars, but then have to leave them behind in the knowledge that certain violent death awaits them soon...
All of these dogs deserve respect, protection and love just like any other dog. There are countless lovable and wonderful dogs in the killing stations who have done nothing wrong - they just have to give up their lives because they are no longer wanted and the politics of their country have let them down.
We want to save as many dogs as possible from this sad fate and therefore work together with the animal welfare workers from PCAS, who do everything in their power to get as many dogs as possible out of cooperating killing stations before they are killed.
At “Rehoming Assistance” you can find dogs from kill shelters that can be rescued if there is an adoption or foster placement available – you can help by adopting a dog from a kill shelter or agreeing to give it a safe foster home until it is adopted.
Even if you adopt a dog from our partner animal shelter in Kondoros, you are helping the dogs in the killing stations, because if we have free capacity, we always try to accommodate dogs from killing stations in the Kondoros animal shelter, where they are safe.
