Balgarianovinite.com Sofia’s mounted police unit plans to auction off 11 horses on December 1 because they have grown too old and unfit for service, Chief Commissioner Stoyan Tsenov of the Specialized Police Forces with the Sofia Directorate of the Interior said during a news briefing Wednesday. The announcement has triggered reactions from animal-rights organizations and an MEP, Emil Radev, who argue that Bulgaria urgently needs legal changes to ensure that retired service animals are treated with care and dignity rather than as surplus property.
An animal-rights group, Kazhi, has launched a petition demanding reforms so that decommissioned police horses and service dogs are offered for adoption or lifelong care instead of being sold with no control over what happens with them after that.
At a press conference in Strasbourg, MEP Emil Radev also criticized the current rules, noting that under Ordinance 7 from 1997, retired animals are legally treated as objects and can be sold with no tracking of their fate. He warned that some may end up in inhumane conditions or even slaughtered, and urged that Bulgaria adopt standards similar to other EU countries where service animals are guaranteed a humane retirement.
The Interior Ministry maintains that the horses can no longer perform their duties safely and that the mounted unit lacks staff to care for additional animals. After their sale, the Ministry has no legal obligation to monitor their treatment. Sofia Police to Sell 11 Retired Horses as Activists, MEP and Animal-Rights Group Push for Reform of Service-Animal Rules 2025 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-11-26 15:38:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law