Mayor defends participants in Bulgarian dog spinning ritual

Village elders are in a spin after they were subjected to a hate campaign demanding they stop the annual dog spin aimed to drive away evil spirits before the spring arrives. The bizarre ritual involves local hounds being tied to a rope stretched over a river which is then wound up tight and released causing animals to spin down into the water. The terrified pooches reached such high speeds that by the time the land in the river they are unable to swim and many drown. But after a video of the event was posted on the Internet locals say they have become the target of an international hate campaign centred on Facebook .

The dog spin event is the culmination of a four day celebration in the village of Brodilovo, in the southeastern Bulgarian region of Strandzha near the border with Turkey. It was held to mark 133 years of independence from the Ottoman empire. In the video you can see how the dogs are "hanged" with a rope tied across the chest and then pulled over the river. The rope is then twisted repeatedly and the dogs would spin madly on their way down to the water. The spinning leaves the dogs disoriented, and sometimes they would drown in the process.

Video contains graphic footage.

YouTube link.

Brodilovo mayor Petko Arnaoudov said he had banned the ritual in 2006, but he could not stop rogue elements in the village from still carrying it out believing that the failure last year to hold the event was to blame for a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak which struck in the area for the first time in 12 years. "You cannot stop a traditional custom with a simple order," Arnaoudov said. "I gave this order only because animal rights organizations caused a fuss back then, but I am backing the villagers now. It's an old tradition, and we have to preserve our traditions.

"Almost every year, since I was a child in 1950s, I am present at the ritual. I am 61-old now." Local historians and ethnologists say that the ritual dates back to 10 century BC. Yavor Gechev, coordinator of local animal rights protection organization 'Four Paws', said, 'It's a tradition originated in a times of ignorance. In 16 and 17 century fights between bears and dogs were very popular in London, but now they do not exist. So, the people who say that the ritual is an ancient one, and is part of our cultural inheritance are talking nonsense."