TBILISI, April 17 – Georgia plans to build three new municipal animal shelters as part of a reform aimed at tackling dog overpopulation through what officials describe as more humane and effective methods.
The announcement came Friday from the National Food Agency, which said the new shelters will be built under the state’s 2026 dog hyperpopulation management program. The agency said the expansion of the existing shelter network, along with the opening of new facilities in three more regions, is expected to strengthen the rollout of the program through castration and sterilization rather than more punitive or ad hoc methods.
According to the agency, the new shelters will be built in Kvemo Kartli, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti and Samtskhe-Javakheti. It said suitable plots of land have already been selected for construction in coordination with local municipalities. Representatives of the hyperpopulation management center are also actively involved in the process.
Officials said meetings have already been held in all three regions to discuss infrastructure needs and the stages of the project’s implementation. That suggests the plan is moving beyond a general policy announcement and into site-level planning.
Lasha Gegechkori, an expert at the hyperpopulation management center, said the broader shelter network and the launch of facilities in three additional regions would significantly help the program work more effectively through humane methods, specifically castration and sterilization.
