Animal rights activists and protesters rallied in Tbilisi on November 1 after a TV Pirveli report showed footage of dogs being buried, apparently by municipal authorities, reigniting longstanding concerns over the treatment and fate of stray animals in Georgia. Authorities deny any ill-treatment, claiming the footage depicted a “lawful” procedure.
The report, aired as part of Nodar Meladze’s Saturday Night investigative program on October 30, showed dog carcasses being transported in vans at night and dumped in what appeared to be a mass grave near a cemetery in Tbilisi. Animal rights activists raised concerns that stray dogs in Georgia, including healthy ones, may be subjected to cruel practices, including mass euthanasia without legal grounds.
Tbilisi City Hall, meanwhile, denied any ill-treatment, arguing that the channel had distorted the facts and that the footage depicted a lawful process of burying dogs that had died “for various reasons,” including disease, accidents, or natural causes.
“Particularly outrageous is the slander that alive dogs, deliberately put to sleep, are being placed in the burial site in question, which is a complete lie and disinformation,” the City Hall said. “We call on citizens to refrain from arbitrarily opening burial sites, removing carcasses, moving them, and any similar actions.”
Shortly after the report, the Interior Ministry confirmed to the media that it had launched an investigation into possible torture, cruel treatment, or other forms of violence against animals under Article 259 of Georgia’s Criminal Code.
Zero Strays Georgia, a local animal rights group, outlined key demands for the authorities, including a “transparent, thorough investigation” and “an independent examination of the cause of death and whether sedation or anesthesia was used.” It also called for “full records on the animals found, including medical reports and drugs used” and “an explanation of why biothermal pits weren’t used to prevent the spread of disease.”
One of the protesters said at the rally that they demanded that “all carcasses be fully removed from all burial sites,” adding that the animals should be “counted and identified, because several dogs were recognized by people who had been searching for them earlier and had not received an answer from the monitoring [service].”
Addressing the rally, blogger Tornike Razmadze also called for greater public oversight of facilities holding stray animals, saying that interested groups should be allowed to enter shelters and other state facilities at any time, potentially through a pre-approved list of visitors submitted to the relevant authorities.
The scrutiny follows a series of similar reports and controversies over the past months surrounding the treatment of stray dogs in Tbilisi and other parts of Georgia. These included allegations and suspicions that stray dogs were routinely taken off the streets by authorities, euthanised or even cremated, or released into the wild with little chance of survival. Officials have denied such practices, claiming that dogs were temporarily taken off the streets for veterinary procedures.
In October, animal rights activists also raised concerns over conditions at a shelter in Gori, a city in eastern Georgia’s Shida Kartli region, after footage circulated online showing what appeared to be overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, with activists alleging that around 300 puppies were being kept there without adequate food or water, alongside dead animals.
The Shida Kartli Stray Animal Management Agency denied the allegations, responding that the footage had been circulated “out of context” and was intended to deliberately mislead the public.
The footage nevertheless prompted public outrage and efforts by animal defenders to remove dogs from the shelter. Subsequent footage showed dogs being taken out of the facility, while volunteers organized their care. One of the activists said that some of the rescued puppies were placed in a large house in Tskneti, on the outskirts of Tbilisi.
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