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00:00:32Hello everyone, you're watching the program Europe in Focus,
00:00:35today with Victoria Terentyeva.
00:00:38What would these
00:00:41dogs say if they could talk about what they
00:00:45endured on the streets of Romania? Here there are about
00:00:48half a million homeless animals. Activists,
00:00:51Claudia and Tudor, are among those trying to
00:00:54protect them. They claim some shelters
00:00:57receive government money,
00:01:00but instead of rescuing animals, they turn their suffering
00:01:03into a business. What happens behind the closed
00:01:06gates of Romanian dog shelters?
00:01:10Our correspondent, along with local activists,
00:01:13tried to find evidence of animal
00:01:16cruelty.
00:01:21They are tortured, maimed, and killed. This is what, according
00:01:25to animal rights advocates, happens to
00:01:27dogs here, in this shelter.
00:02:33Today they plan to check these tips,
00:02:36because a shelter employee has already seen both of them. Their
00:02:40friend Claudia pretends to be interested in
00:02:43adopting a dog and will take the opportunity to inspect
00:02:47the territory.
00:02:49Claudia is already driving there in another
00:02:52car.
00:02:54For many years Tudor has been observing how dogs are treated in this shelter.
00:02:58There are half a million of them here,
00:03:30mostly in rural areas. Many
00:03:33dog owners exacerbate the problem by allowing their
00:03:36unneutered pets to roam freely
00:03:39on the street. However, this
00:03:42problem could have been solved long ago through sterilization and
00:03:46castration, as is common in other
00:03:48countries.
00:03:51Claudia calls. She's inside, but sees no signs
00:03:54of dead dogs. Time is running out, she can't stay
00:03:58at the shelter for long.
00:04:26How much have you earned, how much do you get paid for taking care of each dog?
00:05:00was injured, she has a large hole in her ear, and we suspect
00:05:03that the bodies of killed
00:05:05dogs are here. Police search
00:05:09the area, minutes turn into hours.
00:05:12we have to wait
00:05:13outside,
00:05:17suddenly another car
00:05:19pulls up,
00:05:22it's the veterinary service, the regulatory body for
00:05:25dog shelters. The police called them, apparently
00:05:28they found what they were looking for. Several
00:05:32more hours pass. How serious is this
00:05:34problem?
00:05:42cost the state budget approximately 873 million
00:05:45dollars, that's almost a billion
00:05:48dollars. How is it possible that they
00:05:51make such money by killing many homeless
00:05:55dogs? By law, local authorities are required to catch
00:05:58stray dogs, so they often sign contracts with
00:06:02private animal shelters. Depending on
00:06:05the terms of the contract, operators receive between 200 and 400
00:06:09euros for each dog taken in for care. Or...
00:06:12for sterilization or castration. Many shelters
00:06:16work simultaneously for several municipalities.
00:06:19However, some operators provide little care for dogs
00:06:23and do not seek new owners for them. Instead, they are even illegally
00:06:26killed. This is much cheaper and quickly frees
00:06:29up space for new profitable contracts. But let's return to
00:06:33the animal shelter. There are dead dogs there, we
00:06:37will conduct an inspection. We have been informed that the dog carcasses
00:06:40will be examined to determine if they were killed or died
00:06:44of natural causes. The most horrific case was
00:06:47uncovered by animal activists and private detectives in February 2026
00:06:51at an animal shelter in Suceava.
00:06:55The scheme was the same: government contracts, large
00:06:58sums of money, estimated 15,000 dead
00:07:02dogs. These horrifying images were captured
00:07:06with a hidden
00:07:06camera.
00:07:12They were seen across the country, thousands of people took to the streets, demanding
00:07:16justice for animals. Animal rights advocate, Ema
00:07:19Stratulat, was also present at the
00:07:22event.
00:07:27For years I've been saying that one day I'll show you what's
00:07:31happening behind these walls and
00:07:33fences.
00:07:38Activists document how many stray dogs were
00:07:41caught, how many contracts were signed with local
00:07:44authorities, how many dogs were killed. The data
00:07:47is exclusively from government agencies.
00:07:51The animal shelter that Tudor and Ema visited apparently received
00:07:552.6 million euros in state funds, starting
00:07:59in 2018. Its mortality rate
00:08:01is 84%.
00:08:03Catalina Mocanu from the Romanian
00:08:07police confirmed that an investigation is underway regarding the shelter's
00:08:11management.
00:08:42They officially died, allegedly, quote, of natural
00:08:46causes. Even the dog Claudia took was, according to documents,
00:08:50clinically healthy.
00:08:53Activists took the dog to an independent clinic, where it was
00:08:56diagnosed with canine coronavirus,
00:08:59a parasitic infection, and giardiasis. The dog
00:09:03needed to be quarantined immediately. We contacted
00:09:06the Romanian Veterinary Chamber, the body
00:09:09that oversees veterinary clinics.
00:10:14But there is another way to solve this problem. Here, at the public
00:10:18animal adaptation center in Ilfov county, near
00:10:22Bucharest, Hilde Tudor cares for the homeless.
00:10:55parliament, which refuses to pass laws to improve the lives of these
00:10:59creatures, and even prosecutors and judges who turn a blind
00:11:02eye to it. Sometimes years pass before
00:11:06the culprits are held accountable, if it ever
00:11:09happens. Until the authorities intervene, Romanian
00:11:12taxpayers will continue to unwittingly finance
00:11:16a system that promotes animal cruelty.
00:11:19Since the full-scale war in
00:11:22Ukraine, European countries have seriously
00:11:25taken up civil defense, but the difference
00:11:29between them is huge. For example, in Germany
00:11:32public shelters today are only enough for half a percent of
00:11:36the population, while in Finland there are places
00:11:39for practically everyone. What do
00:11:42Finns do differently? My colleague, Yuri Risito,
00:11:45went to Finland to find out. He visited
00:11:49modern shelters, even spent a night in
00:11:52one of them. And perhaps, the Finnish experience
00:11:55is a lesson that all of Europe should learn today.
00:11:59What happens if an entire village, say, 2,000 people, decides
00:12:03to disappear underground because it is in danger? This
00:12:06is the purpose of the civil defense exercise here in central Finland, where I am now.
00:12:10This rock, called Luola, or in Finnish,
00:12:13"cave." Let's go. Residents of the nearby city
00:12:17of Kuopio, along with rescue services, volunteers,
00:12:20and local authorities, are participating in
00:12:24"Shelter 2026,"
00:12:27a large-scale civil defense exercise.
00:12:30The goal is to find out if an entire community can not just
00:12:34survive, but also function normally underground during a major
00:12:38crisis. It's quite warm in here, so if
00:12:42people have to stay here for several days, I don't think it will be too
00:12:45pleasant, and it's also very noisy here, which is an additional
00:12:48stress.
00:12:52Exactly at noon, the exercise begins.
00:13:25"I want to help people stay safe, that's why I'm
00:13:28here. This is a really huge space, it can
00:13:32accommodate 7,000 people. Usually, people can stay here for up to
00:13:3572 hours.
00:13:38The country, which shares a 1,300 km border with Russia,
00:13:42joined NATO in 2023,
00:13:45a year after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of
00:13:48Ukraine. For many Finns, Russia's war against Ukraine
00:13:52awakened memories of the Winter War
00:13:55of 1939-40, when Finland fought
00:13:58the Soviet Union to preserve its
00:14:01independence. This conflict left a deep mark on the country's
00:14:04history and helps explain why crisis preparedness
00:14:07remains a national priority even
00:14:11today. My grandfather fought so that
00:14:14Finland would remain independent, so for me it's
00:14:18very important. For the sake of Finland's past and for future
00:14:21generations. Now it's our turn to bear this responsibility.
00:14:28Russia is our neighbor, so after World War II we learned a lesson, we
00:14:32need shelters, and of course, seeing the current situation in Europe, we
00:14:36realize how good it is that we have these
00:14:38shelters. According to Finnish
00:14:41law, all public and large residential buildings must
00:14:45have a shelter. Large cities, such as Kuopio, also maintain
00:14:49large underground facilities, similar to this
00:14:52bunker.
00:14:55thousands of shelters capable of accommodating most of
00:14:58the country's population, but civil defense is
00:15:01more than just preparation for war; it includes readiness for
00:15:05cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, and other hybrid
00:15:08threats.
00:15:11Am I afraid? No, I'm not afraid. We are ready for anything, we understand
00:15:14what is happening, we take care of each other, we will not
00:15:18abandon anyone to their fate.
00:15:21By morning, the exercise will be completed, volunteers, rescuers, and civil defense
00:15:25experts will return to normal life, but
00:15:28the main conclusion is obvious: Finland
00:15:31seriously prepares in advance for any
00:15:33crisis.
00:15:36Aging is one of Europe's main problems.
00:15:40Elderly people are increasingly facing loneliness,
00:15:43social isolation, and financial difficulties,
00:15:46while in some sectors, there is a severe shortage of
00:15:50workers. Eighty- one-year-old Marianne Hoffmann
00:15:53wants to remain active, be useful, and earn a little
00:15:57money. In Vienna, an unusual project has been devised for such
00:16:01people: how the city helps the elderly remain
00:16:04in demand, stay connected with society, and
00:16:07feel more financially secure. This is the subject of our next
00:16:11report.
00:16:13Work for pensioners in this Viennese cafe.
00:16:17It's great you're here. Are you familiar with our concept?
00:16:21Poverty and loneliness in old age. Many
00:16:24elderly women in Europe face
00:16:27these problems. One in five women over 65 in
00:16:30Austria experiences poverty in old age.
00:16:34It's hard if something breaks down, I can't afford it.
00:17:38Yes, this is our base, if they are there, we let our imagination run wild. That's
00:17:41our advantage. Each granny does what she does best, so
00:17:45people always get the best. Today Liliana Winkelbauer bakes
00:17:49her cake from strudel
00:17:52dumplings. Until last autumn, she worked as a youth
00:17:55coach. Immediately after retiring, she started working at this
00:17:59cafe. She decides how often to work.
00:18:02Shifts for retired employees last
00:18:055 hours, before and after.
00:20:08but I get paid for it, it's not a stroll or me saying,
00:20:11"Oh, how wonderful this is," working 5 hours, you
00:20:14can really work hard, but then I get the money and
00:20:18I'm glad I did it, and I'm also a little proud
00:20:21of myself.
00:20:26A model like this cafe won't solve the problem
00:20:29of elderly poverty, but
00:20:32Marianne, in any case, wants to continue working
00:20:35as long as her strength
00:20:38allows.
00:20:43Summer is over, but the tourist season in Europe
00:20:47continues. And for many popular cities,
00:20:51millions of guests are becoming not only a source of
00:20:54income, but also a serious problem. One such
00:20:58city is the Croatian Dubrovnik. Mediterranean
00:21:01landscapes, ancient city and the purest sea
00:21:04attract millions of tourists, but along with
00:21:07them, the burden on the infrastructure and
00:21:11residents themselves grows. The mayor of Dubrovnik is trying to find
00:21:14a balance, to keep the city attractive for
00:21:17tourists, but at the same time not to turn it into
00:21:26a walk in Dubrovnik with Stija
00:21:29Batinić. A seventy-five-year-old
00:21:32woman, a native resident of the Croatian port
00:21:36city.
00:21:38This is the house where I was born, and I still live in
00:21:41it. For decades, the woman
00:21:45has watched how tourism is changing in her hometown.
00:21:47Faster, cheaper,
00:21:50less time, all of this should be more and preferably
00:21:53immediately, more, more, more.
00:21:57Crowds of tourists, like a tsunami,
00:22:01says Thea. Year after year, almost one and a half million
00:22:04visitors come to the Adriatic city, a UNESCO
00:22:07World Heritage site. It is surrounded by a powerful city
00:22:10wall. The popular series Game of
00:22:13Thrones was filmed here. Dubrovnik lives off tourism, but...
00:22:16on digital regulation of tourist numbers. If all
00:24:20tourists gather in one place at the same time, nothing good will come of it,
00:24:24so we try to distribute them throughout the city with a special
00:24:28tourist passport.
00:24:31Through the app, you can observe in real time where
00:24:34especially many people have gathered, so the authorities are trying to relieve the pressure from
00:24:37the same attractions. All
00:24:41these measures are part of a fundamental change in
00:24:43Dubrovnik's development course. No more
00:24:47tourists, needed. Dubrovnik tries to balance
00:25:31tourism and quality of life, an example
00:25:35that extends far beyond the city walls,
00:25:38how European tourist destinations can develop
00:25:41in the future.
00:28:04the Kremlin. If something happens to me,
00:28:06there will be a scandal not only in
00:28:14Moscow, but also throughout the whole
00:28:17world. They killed my father,
00:28:20I can't just stay silent.
00:28:23I had no ambition
00:28:27to become a public figure, an activist.
00:28:31all graduates, my
00:30:03the peak of winter, work at the coal mines of Karagyach is carried out
00:30:07around the clock. If we don't work here, it will be hard for
00:30:10people in the city.
00:30:13Roughly speaking, we have 22 floors underground.
00:30:28Mines for gold mining since tsarist times.
00:30:32There's practically a whole city underground here, one might say.
00:30:35The lower floors are all flooded, and the upper ones are open. You can enter
00:30:38one mountain, walk several kilometers underground through these
00:30:41mines, and exit another mountain. So there's
00:30:45an underground city here, and all this has been
00:30:48developed and mined
00:30:51since some year in the 1800s. mined.
00:30:54добывалось.