The Biggest Animal Shelter in the World

The Largest Animal Shelter in the world is the Aulim Dog Shelter in Smeura, Romania also known as the Smeura. Romania has over 600,000 stray dogs, most of these dogs are injured, malnourished or taken in by kill shelters. In 2013, Romania created a law that required families to neuter, identify, register and vaccinate their dogs. Not all families followed this law due to financial or other personal reasons so this allowed dogs to continue breeding. These puppies are left abandoned and on the street. As Romania noticed the growing numbers of stray dogs, another law was put in place. Dogs admitted into shelters could be killed after just two weeks and the dogs must be neutered to be released from the shelter. The Smeura which is run by Tierhilfe Hoffnung has a unique mission compared to the kill shelters in Romania. The Smeura is a non-kill shelter, which works towards neutering as many dogs as possible and they are working towards protecting every single animal. This animal shelter can hold up to 6000 dogs and 450 cats. It works towards microchipping, neutering and transporting dogs to other shelters to find them a home. The Smeura offers a variety of facilities like an open shelter for stray animals who can’t find a home, a dog sanctuary for senior pets to encourage older people to adopt, a medical center for stray dogs and cats, law offices to enforce regulations and scientific offices for research. One of the most important facilities is their own neutering and registration center. Along with these facilities, the shelter advocates and addresses animals in entertainment, animal testing, animals in agriculture, illegal puppy trade and animal welfare. The Smeura is an incredible animal shelter that is able to neuter, nurse and find homes for thousands of dogs a year. This shelter has an incredible impact on the animal community and deserves to be recognized for their incredible work!