I would like to urge sensitive viewers to turn off this video. We will not be showing footage of the gruesome find, but what we are about to report is not for the faint of heart. According to an investigative report, employees of a municipal shelter have been secretly transporting dog carcasses from the facility and burying them in a cemetery on the outskirts of Tbilisi under conditions of strict secrecy.
On October 31, the TV Pirveli channel aired an explosive report. Over several nights, journalists conducted covert surveillance of one of the capital’s animal shelters. Each night, an unmarked van departed the facility’s grounds, drove to the Veli cemetery, and switched off its headlights. Two people dressed in shelter uniforms—passengers in the vehicle—began unloading items from the van and dumping them into a pre-dug pit. Inside, journalists discovered the bodies of dozens of dogs. Following the broadcast, volunteers rushed to the scene and uncovered another burial site.
According to animal rights activists, judging by the posture of the bodies and their contorted expressions, the animals presumably endured severe suffering before dying. Mention has been made of either suffocation or the use of lethal chemicals without anesthesia. Activists point out that when an animal is properly euthanized, it appears as though it has simply fallen asleep.
Tbilisi City Hall denied the allegations of killing stray animals. The Mayor of Tbilisi dismissed the accusations as slander and disinformation. The Animal Monitoring Agency added that the Veli cemetery is used for the lawful burial of animals that have died from disease, traffic accidents, or natural causes. Municipal authorities also threatened activists with criminal liability for unauthorized exhumations of the burial pits.
Meanwhile, citizens have already begun reporting that they recognized their pets in the mass grave. A Tbilisi resident identified a dog she had cared for over several years by a distinctive joint deformity on its paw. She stated her readiness to attend a forensic examination to officially identify the animal. A petition has been launched in Georgia demanding an independent inquiry and the screening of the remains for microchips and identification tags. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, for its part, has opened a criminal case under Article 259 (cruelty to animals).
It is worth recalling that in mid-October, another scandal broke out in Georgia. At a shelter in Gori, volunteers discovered dozens of emaciated and sick puppies packed into an overcrowded, cramped enclosure. An emergency nationwide fundraising campaign was launched, and veterinary clinics treated the patients free of charge. Many puppies died en route to the hospitals. Earlier in the spring, in April, animal welfare advocates sounded the alarm over the mass disappearance of street dogs cared for by volunteers. At the same time, activists claimed that a crematorium operated at night on the grounds of the Gori shelter, spreading the stench of burning across the neighborhood. To substantiate their claims, they published video footage. Allegations were made that captured stray dogs might be incinerated—potentially even alive.
All these episodes add up to a single chilling picture. It is clear that the problem exists: the streets of Tbilisi and other Georgian cities are indeed populated by large numbers of stray dogs. However, animal welfare advocates urge that the crisis be addressed through humane methods.
