Protests pay off in Letea wild horses issue

Local and international media were alarmed recently about the situation of 49 abandoned horses found in the Letea forest in Romania, near the Danube Delta, and taken to the slaughter house in highly precarious conditions. NGOs, as well as the public opinion and local officials reacted and most of the horses were saved and taken back to the wilderness.

The initial plan was to sell these animals to an Italian firm for their meat. A flashmob demonstration outside government headquarters was organized on Friday night for saving these animals and reportedly several people were arrested as the protest was ruled illegal. A protocol has been signed by Tulcea county officials and Vier Pfoten NGO through which the horses, the saved ones, as well as the others existent in the Letea forest, will be taken into evidence and medically examined.

According to information from Vier Pfoten association project coordinator Kuki Barbuceanu, there are an estimate of 1,000 horses in the Letea forest region. The animals had been abandoned after the fall of communism, since before 1990, horses were massively used together with agricultural machinery for the increase of production. After 1990, consequential to the economical downfall of the area, the horses were released in the forest area and became semi-wild.

Representatives from the Letea protected area (a surface of 2,800 ha of the total 6,000 ha, where some of the horses found refuge) considered these animals to be damaging to the surrounding ecosystems and this is why the fate of the horses was uncertain.

The authorities reacted and intervened as well in this case. Prime minister Boc solicited for the current legislation to be abided by for the good health of the animals.

Local NGO Salvati Dunarea si Delta (Save the Danube and the Delta) and WWF have proposed as solutions for the remaining horses their movement to other locations where their behavior could be carefully observed, so that it would no longer have a negative effect on the surroundings. Profit could also be made with the aid of the semi-wild horse population which might encourage activities as eco-tourism (for this, of course, these horses would need to be tamed as they became semi-wild).

“The people have helped us enormously, we could not have handled the situation by ourselves”, stated Barbuceanu. People are invited to contribute even further to the rescue of these animals, for their health testing, their inventorying and marking, for training and maintenance purposes, until they are suitable for relocation and reuse. “What we currently need are products, but we would rather receive financial aid since we can distribute it better for the needs of the horses,” Barbuceanu added. He could not estimate how much was invested in the animals’ rescue so far, but stated that any kind of aid is welcome.