For hundreds of years, locals in the remote village of Brodilovo in the south-east of the country have carried out the annual Spring ritual.
The tradition of Trichaneto or Dog spinning is an old pagan ritual that was traditionally practiced on the first day of Lent (during the Bulgarian cold months) in the village of Brodilovo. The ritual was performed in order to prevent rabies and keep away evil spirits.
In dog spinning, a dog is suspended above water on a rope. The dog is turned repeatedly in a given direction to wind the rope or is inserted into a loop of rope that has been twisted already. The dog is then released so that it spins rapidly in the opposite direction as the rope unwinds, then the animal go and it spins out of control until it tumbles into the water of the Veleka River below.
The terrified dogs reach such high speeds that by the time they land in the river they are unable to swim.
Reports of this type of ritual can be found as early as 1869
The ritual was officially banned by the Bulgarian government in 2006, but the law is not always enforced, and people continue performing the sadistic ritual.
For years, animal advocates in Bulgaria have tried to put an end to this atrocity, desperately urging villagers to use stuffed dogs instead. And every year the animal advocated organize, go to the village, call the media to create conscience and protect the dogs
As a foreigner, I feel uncomfortable to judge Bulgarian or other countries traditions, especially when this has been long into their cultural heritage, but for me, the bottom line is not to damage animals or the environment, and unfortunately, this is the case in this tradition.
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