An important category on which the lives of 46% of Romanians, who live beyond the city walls, depend, has run out of money. “We're going to town, to groom dogs”

Delays in the payment of some of the most important programs for Romanian villages cause concern among the villagers, among the authorities, farmers, but also those directly affected: the veterinarians. In several counties, veterinary medical staff say they have not received their money from the summer, although work has continued, and some veterinarians have had to send their employees out of work.

• Veterinarians are also the ones on whom the quality of animal food depends. They certify, for example, animals that arrive at slaughterhouses.
• The amount they should receive is 10,000 non-taxable lei, monthly.
• HotNews talked to several veterinarians, from several counties. The temptation is, a veterinarian explains, “to go to the city, where the money is, to groom dogs.”

Between 8.6 and 9 million Romanians do not live in cities. They represent 46% of the country's population, according to World Bank data. In 1960 there were 66%.

The animals of these people are cared for by veterinarians in rural areas, who work on a concession system.

What is the working system

Veterinarians take over, for a period of four years, which can be extended, the sanitary-veterinary actions in a certain area. The contracts are concluded with the Veterinary Sanitary Directorate. Funding comes through the strategic program against infectious-contagious diseases from animals, from where they are also transferred the amounts for the services they provide.

The activity of doctors is vital for the safety of public food. They deal with the fight against zoonotic diseases, that is, those that can be transmitted from animals to humans. These diseases include tuberculosis, brucellosis or trichinellosis.

Field veterinarians are also the ones who deal with rabies or anthrax vaccination. They also certify animals leaving the field for a slaughterhouse. For example, animals that have been treated with antibiotics cannot enter the food chain.

“We haven't been transferred the respective amounts until now either”

Constantin Bunescu has been a veterinarian for 44 years in Cenade commune, Alba county. He told HotNews that veterinarians operating in rural areas have not received their money from the state since June.

“This year we encountered a lot of difficulties, we encountered financial difficulties. We submitted the invoices resulting from our services to the Veterinary Sanitary Directorate, they accepted their payment, but even so far the respective amounts have not been transferred to us. I, for example, am a VAT payer. I pay it when the invoice is issued, not when it is collected. This means that we pay taxes for income that we did not collect.”

Bunescu claims that they invested in the standards established by the state

The situation of doctors is all the more difficult since, in order to be able to take over the concession, they must meet some criteria that are expensive.

“When I made the concession contract, some conditions were imposed on me. We had to have a doctor employed at each sanitary-veterinary district and a veterinary technician employed in the practice. I ended up in a situation where I had nothing to pay them, I had to take out loans. I'm not the only one in this situation, it's the whole country,” Bunescu claims.

“I had to send people out of work”

“Also, we have to maintain the dispensaries and buy everything necessary, from instruments, refrigerators, thermoses, syringes and vaccines. We bear all this, I had to send the people I had employed out of work,” says the doctor.

For many veterinarians in the rural area, the subsidized amounts from the state end up meaning even 80% of the receipts, the price of the services being set by the authorities, through the specifications.

Offices in the city

Doctor Constantin Bunescu believes that the situation contributes to the departure of veterinarians to urban areas, practically leaving communes without professionals in the field.

“What do you do if you don't have a veterinarian? In human medicine, you call 112, how do you do it here? I haven't had a vacation since 1988. Young people prefer to open a practice in the city. You cut a cat, you cut a dog, you give it some tablets… that's where the money is, not in the country,” says the doctor.

The veterinarians in Dâmbovița are in the same situation

The situation presented by doctor Constantin Bunescu is confirmed by a veterinarian who works in Dâmbovița, but who asked us not to present his identity.

In the area of ​​which it is a part, more than 40 concessionaires are affected by the situation. The vet told us that before Christmas, the Veterinary Sanitary Directorate delivered two months of the outstanding money.

“A few years ago, a law was passed that says that you receive 10,000 non-taxable lei, monthly. They passed the law because there were no longer such large herds of animals, and veterinarians could no longer collect much,” explained the veterinarian.

“In order to receive the 10,000 you also had to fulfill the strategic program, from which you were subsequently paid extra for each action, usually combat actions adapted to the needs of each area. For example, for anemia you have to collect blood samples from horses. Additional amounts were also given for the appearance of African swine fever. At the same time, there is also counseling work, as it is called. This means that every month, the Veterinary Sanitary Directorate chooses ten owners, who are assigned to a concessionaire and who goes and tells him what to do, how to take care of the animals, how to avoid certain diseases, check if they respect the biosecurity conditions”, the specialist added.

“If Aunt Leana's pig gets sick, you go”

The vet pointed out the same situation related to the fees that the doctors have to pay, although they have not collected the money.

“They say that the 10,000 is non-taxable, in the sense that it's not like a salary, that is, you don't pay CAS and other taxes to the state. But they give you the money on the company, and you later pay tax on this income,” says the source.

The doctor says that vets can't support themselves just from the additional services they provide because they can't charge large sums of money to ordinary people with small households.

“I can't charge the same from someone who raises a pig and that's what he survives on, that's what he feeds on, as I do from someone that raises a cat or dog that he wants and that's what he lives on. If Aunt Leana's pig gets sick, you go and do your job,” concluded the doctor.

The doctor Constantin Bunescu from Alba added that from January 1, several veterinarians will file lawsuits in order to receive their due money.

As of press time, the National Veterinary and Food Safety Authority had not responded to HotNews' request for a comment.