Six Bulls Strayed Across the Border from North Macedonia into Bulgaria - What Will Be Their Fate?

A curious case has emergedc on the border between Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia after six bulls strayed across the border into Bulgarian territory, leaving authorities with three questions: should the animals be euthanised, returned to their owners in North Macedonia, or kept in Bulgaria as part of a food bank programme?

The bulls were first spotted by the mayor of the village of Gueshevo, near the border. To capture them, municipal security officers from Kyustendil and the Border Police first sedated the animals before transporting them to a temporary livestock facility.

Ognyan Atanasov, Mayor of Kyustendil Municipality: “At the facility where we are currently feeding and keeping them, there are six animals. All tests came back just a few minutes ago, and all six are completely healthy. Every sample taken tested negative.”

Kristian Ivanchov, District Governor of Kyustendil: “Two of the animals have ear tags, which allowed us to identify that the tags are actually from North Macedonia.”

Under European Union legislation, animals entering from a non-EU country should be euthanised.

Ognyan Atanasov, Mayor of Kyustendil Municipality: “Effectively, the options for the animals are euthanasia, but since they are healthy, this can be avoided. They could be donated to a food bank, which is the second option, or a procedure could be arranged to return them to the Republic of North Macedonia. Each animal is worth around 6,000–7,000 leva. One of them is 700–800 kilograms as a calf, so I expect there will be interest from the owners.”

However, four of the animals do not have ear tags.

Kristian Ivanchov, District Governor of Kyustendil: “Returning them will be difficult because we have no evidence that anyone owns these animals or can claim any property rights over them.”

Dr Neli Yovcheva, Animal Health Department of the Regional Food Safety Directorate: “At present, the Regional Food Safety Directorates in Kyustendil is in discussions with the veterinary services of North Macedonia to arrange the return of the animals.”

Kristian Ivanchov: “The costs involved are not small at all. According to engineer Atanasov, they already exceed €2,000 and continue to rise with each passing day.”

The case recalls a similar incident years ago involving a cow named Penka, which crossed the border into Serbia. The situation became an international matter, and Penka was eventually spared and returned to her owner, who continued to care for her.