Dog spinning
Encyclopedia
Dog spinning is a ritual formerly practiced in a village in southeastern Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

.

In dog spinning, a dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...

 is suspended above water on a rope. The dog is turned repeatedly in a given direction to wind the rope, then released so that it spins rapidly in the opposite direction as the rope unwinds. This ancient ritual of pagan origin was performed in order to prevent rabies
Rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...

.

The first known reference to this practice in English is in a press release issued by the UK Green Party
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...

, issued on July 29, 2005.

It includes a statement from Green Party MEP
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...

 Dr Caroline Lucas, vice-president of the RSPCA and the European Parliament's cross-party Animal Welfare Intergroup. Dr Lucas criticised it as being cruel to dogs, saying "Dog-spinning is a barbaric practice and must not be allowed to continue into the 21st century."

Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet
Aftonbladet
Aftonbladet is a Swedish tabloid founded by Lars Johan Hierta in 1830 during the modernization of Sweden. It is one of the larger daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. Aftonbladet is owned by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation and Norwegian media group Schibsted, and its editorial page...

 reported the practice in March 2005.
The "Sofia Echo" reported the practice in March 2011.
It took place in the village of Brodilovo
Brodilovo
Brodilovo is a village in the Strandzha mountains of southeastern Bulgaria, part of Tsarevo municipality, Burgas Province. Lying on the left bank of the Veleka, as of 2005 it has a population of 363 and the mayor is Dimitar Dimitrov. Brodilovo is located at , 56 metres above sea level, 12 km south...

 each year in March. The practice of the ritual was banned by the mayor of Tsarevo
Tsarevo
Tsarevo is a town and seaside resort in southeastern Bulgaria, an administrative centre of the homonymous Municipality of Tsarevo in Burgas Province. It lies on a cove 70 km southeast of Burgas, on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast at the eastern foot of Strandzha mountain...

 in 2006 after complaints by Bulgarian animal welfare
Animal welfare
Animal welfare is the physical and psychological well-being of animals.The term animal welfare can also mean human concern for animal welfare or a position in a debate on animal ethics and animal rights...

organizations.

External links

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