National Food Agency rejects ‘baseless’ claims over stray dog round-ups, insists population control programme is transparent

“The canine hyperpopulation management programme is fully transparent, and allegations of unplanned or arbitrary dog round-ups from various locations are entirely groundless,” the National Food Agency (NFA) has announced in an official statement.

According to the Agency, the initiative is progressing strictly on schedule along two main tracks, delivering essential veterinary care to both stray and owned dogs.

“Under the scheme, stray and community-sheltered dogs undergo sterilisation, identification, registration, rabies vaccination, and diagnostic screening. For owned dogs, the programme specifically provides for the spaying of female dogs, microchipping, and registration on a unified national electronic database.

To design the hyperpopulation management programme, the National Food Agency extended a special invitation to an expert recommended by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). This specialist brings over 20 years of professional experience in animal welfare and stray population management, serves on the governing board of the International Companion Animal Management Coalition (ICAM), acts as an adviser to both the FAO and TAIEX, and has spent many years leading the RSPCA’s international programmes across Europe and the Caucasus. The programme is being executed strictly in accordance with their recommendations, ensuring absolute alignment with international best practice.

Furthermore, to guarantee maximum transparency, a dedicated Facebook platform has been established. This page is updated in real time, publishing schedules, dates, and locations, alongside video footage documenting both the initial collection of the dogs and their eventual release back into their natural environments,” the National Food Agency outlined in the statement.

The NFA noted that all operations are carried out in close coordination with local municipalities, animal lovers, and community caretakers. Once the veterinary procedures are complete, the animals are returned safely to their original territories.

“The entire process of implementing the hyperpopulation programme is completely open. Our teams retrieve animals strictly according to a pre-determined and publicly advertised schedule. Consequently, the allegations being spread by certain interest groups regarding arbitrary dog collections are entirely without merit,” stated Tsira Napetvaridze, Deputy Head of the Canine Hyperpopulation Management Programme.

According to the National Food Agency, the initiative is highly comprehensive. Alongside immediate veterinary interventions, the wider strategy includes the construction of new regional, inter-municipal animal shelters in the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Kvemo Kartli, and Samtskhe-Javakheti regions.