Does Bulgaria actually have a traditional dog throwing event every year on March 6th?
We received inquiries about a current status post on Facebook. This talks about a cruel ritual - it's called "Trichane na kuche", in German roughly "the spinning dog".
A dog is tied to a twisted rope and thrown quickly into a river.
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Is this a really bad joke?
The fact check
Unfortunately no. The tradition of dog throwing existed until at least 2011.
banned in 2006 after massive protests in international media , the mayor of the small village of Brodilovo decided to revive the tradition in 2011.
“Nobody kills or hurts the dogs. Their owners take the dogs to the river to take part in this custom, which frees the small community from evil and also promises fertility. The dogs spin for 15-20 seconds and then fall into the water - it's like taking a bath."
said the mayor according to 'Million Actions for animal rights' . (The website is no longer accessible, but the content can be found in the Tierhilfe Nitra forum .) The tradition would give the villagers hope in bad times.
Animal protection laws in Bulgaria
Anyone who thinks that the Bulgarians would stand idly by and watch this activity is very much mistaken: Prime Minister Boiko Borissov has called on the public prosecutor's office and the government to impose penalties on the village. Since 2011 there has been an animal protection law that prohibits animal cruelty. Violations can result in a prison sentence of up to five years and significant fines.
Status quo today
In 2012 there was another “watered down” version of the ritual, in which the dogs were thrown directly into the water without first turning them on a rope.
The Bulgarian animal protection organization “Animal Rescue Sofia” was also there in 2012 and started a Facebook campaign. A petition has been running since March 2013 to prevent this ritual from ever being carried out again.
Since 2014, this hair-raising ritual has become quiet. One can hope that the people of the village of Brodilovo have learned to value kinder traditions than exposing their dogs to such danger.
Videos of this tradition are still circulating on YouTube. We will deliberately not link them here. However, everyone should be warned that the images could disturb the viewer.
Conclusion:
The Bulgarian dog throwing ritual is real. It was banned in 2006 and after that time it took place again in 2011 in the village of Brodilovo. After ongoing international protests, this ritual is no longer practiced.
Other sources:
ESDAW , Change , Animal Rescue Sofia , Dog Spinning
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )