More than 25 years after the end of the Kosovo War, over 60,000 dogs and cats are roaming the streets of Kosovo. On Monday, June 8, a team of Dutch animal welfare activists will travel to the Balkan country to launch an international campaign to rid Kosovo of stray animals.
60,000 stray animals are the forgotten victims of the Kosovo War | Photo: Animals Kosovo Foundation
During the first phase, which lasts several months, 1,000 dogs and cats will be spayed or neutered in collaboration with local veterinarians. This will prevent at least 6,000 births over the course of a year. The Dutch organizers are Karen Soeters of the animal welfare organization House of Animals, Sadri Sopi of the Animals Kosovo Foundation, and veterinarian Piet Hellemans.
According to veterinarian Piet Hellemans, the current stray animal problem in Kosovo has its roots in the war of the late 1990s. When thousands of people fled, many dogs and cats were left behind. Their offspring then had their own young, creating a problem that has perpetuated itself for generations. The dire consequences are evident, among other places, at the country’s largest landfill, near Peja. Here, thousands of dogs and cats live amid mountains of trash, chemicals, and rotting food scraps.
Dogs and cats live on a landfill, amid mountains of trash, chemicals, and rotting food scraps | Photo: Animals Kosovo Foundation
Sadri Sopi of the Animals Kosovo Foundation fled to the Netherlands during the Kosovo War. Although he built a new life here, he remained concerned about the fate of the animals in his native country. “I began to dread family visits to Kosovo more and more,” he says.
"Time and again, I witnessed the suffering of stray dogs and cats forced to survive in landfills and on the side of the road. I live between two worlds: the Netherlands, my home country, where the welfare of dogs and cats is among the most humane in the world; and Kosovo, where dogs and cats face immense suffering every day. I can no longer turn a blind eye to this."
Sadri Sopi now stands proudly on the eve of the largest sterilization campaign his native country has ever seen.
The number of stray animals in Kosovo is growing rapidly, says animal welfare advocate Karen Soeters. According to her, the solution lies in preventing new animals from being added to the population:
"Dogs and cats have an average of two litters or litters per year. Their offspring can reproduce as early as eight months old. That's why we must continue to spay and neuter them."
The sterilization campaign will prevent at least 6,000 births in one year | Photo: Animals Kosovo Foundation
In conclusion, the goal of the initiative’s organizers is for Kosovo to become the first stray-free country in the Balkans in the coming years. “That sounds ambitious, but the Netherlands has shown that it can be done,” says Soeters.
"Our country was the first in the world to successfully curb the problem of stray dogs."
©2026 House of Animals - this article was previously publishedon AnimalsToday.nl
