A widely shared video of veterinarian Dr. Ovidiu Roșu helping a restrained mare and being gently approached by another free-roaming horse in Romania’s Danube Delta brought public attention to a long-running, complex conservation project.
While the horses have a 700-year history in the region and expanded significantly after 1989, their growing numbers threatened-
the protected Letea Forest ecosystem, leading to a 2011 crisis and the implementation of a non-lethal immunocontraception program by FOUR PAWS and veterinary teams. Over more than a decade, this
initiative combined population management, medical care, and scientific monitoring until responsibility was handed over to national authorities in 2025.
