A widely shared video of veterinarian Dr. Ovidiu Ro\u0219u helping a restrained mare and being gently approached by another free-roaming horse in Romania\u2019s Danube Delta brought public attention to a long-running, complex conservation project.<\/p>\n
The horses have a 700-year history in the region and expanded significantly after 1989. As their numbers grew, however, they began putting increasing pressure on the protected Letea Forest ecosystem, eventually contributing to a serious conservation crisis in 2011.<\/p>\n
In response, FOUR PAWS and veterinary teams introduced a non-lethal immunocontraception program designed to manage the horse population without resorting to harmful or lethal methods. Over more than a decade, the initiative combined population management with veterinary care and ongoing scientific monitoring.<\/p>\n
The program continued for years as teams worked to protect both the horses and the fragile ecosystem they inhabited. After more than a decade of conservation efforts, responsibility for the project was formally handed over to Romania\u2019s national authorities in 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A widely shared video of veterinarian Dr. Ovidiu Ro\u0219u helping a restrained mare and being gently approached by another free-roaming horse in Romania\u2019s Danube Delta brought public… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n