Romania’s Government suspends rule on herding dogs after shepherds’ protests in Bucharest

Romania’s Government has decided to suspend a rule that limited the number of dogs a sheepfold could have after over 2,500 shepherds protested in front of the Parliament’s Palace in Bucharest on Tuesday, December 15, according to Mediafax. The shepherds were unhappy that the Parliament recently voted several changes to a local law on hunting without changing the provisions that had been introduced in the law in 2006, which limited the number of herding dogs to protect the hunting fund. According to the existing law, sheepfolds in the lowlands can have maximum one dog while those in the mountains can have up to three dogs. The existing law actually allowed hunters to shoot the extra herding dogs if a sheepfold had more than the legal number, which has led to conflicts between shepherds and hunters over the years. The shepherds were also unhappy with another rule that forbade them from grazing their sheep during winter, from December to April. The Government decided on Tuesday to suspend the two rules until April 2016 and asked the Parliament to find solutions to modify the law by then. The shepherds said on Tuesday that they would return in higher numbers and bring their herds with them if the Parliament didn’t change the law. editor@romania-insider.com