More than 20 years of rescue work and advocacy have shaped Tatiana’s journey from volunteer to international representative
OIPA ETS is pleased to welcome Tatiana Zlatova as its new representative in Bulgaria, strengthening its presence and animal protection activities in the country.
Tatiana’s story began more than 20 years ago with a single animal in need. What started as a personal decision to help gradually became a lifelong commitment to abandoned, injured and vulnerable animals.
For Tatiana, animal protection is not simply a profession, but a personal responsibility and a choice she has continued to make every day for more than two decades.
A life dedicated to animals
Tatiana has volunteered for more than 18 years at the municipal shelter for stray dogs in Kazanlak, central Bulgaria. There, she has witnessed first-hand the consequences of abandonment, uncontrolled breeding and overcrowded shelters.
Over the years, she has provided food, transportation and veterinary care to abandoned, sick and injured animals, while working to find them safe and responsible homes. Thanks to her dedication and that of the volunteers alongside her, hundreds of dogs and cats have been rescued and adopted.
Her commitment has never been limited to companion animals. As a member of the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds, Tatiana has also helped rescue wild birds and other animals in distress, including swallows, pigeons and coots.
These experiences shaped her broader understanding of animal protection: helping animals also means defending wildlife, biodiversity and natural habitats.
From individual rescues to lasting change
After years spent responding to emergencies one animal at a time, Tatiana came to an important realisation: rescue work is essential, but it cannot solve the problem on its own.
Lasting change also requires action to prevent abandonment, promote spaying and neutering, educate communities, improve legislation and hold those responsible for animal cruelty accountable.
This conviction led Tatiana to establish Amabili – Safe Home for Stray Animals in April 2025. Based in Kazanlak, the non-profit organisation grew out of more than 20 years of practical experience and was created to transform individual action into a coordinated and collective effort.
Through Amabili, Tatiana brought together people who share the same vision: a home for every animal.
Her approach combines immediate assistance with long-term prevention. Animals in distress need protection, veterinary care and safe homes, but future suffering must also be prevented through responsible animal guardianship, sterilisation, identification and public education.
Giving a voice to animals in Bulgaria
Stray animals, overcrowded municipal shelters, abandonment and uncontrolled breeding remain widespread problems in Bulgaria. Wild animals are also frequently left outside existing protection systems, with badgers, foxes, hedgehogs, tortoises and birds often injured or killed on roads.
Tatiana is determined to ensure that these animals are not forgotten. Her work connects the protection of individual animals with the wider defence of wildlife and biodiversity.
Recently, Tatiana and Amabili joined the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds in a successful campaign opposing the construction of a wind farm in the Krumovitsa area of the Eastern Rhodopes. The proposed development risked threatening exceptionally rare vulture species and their habitat.
The campaign demonstrated what cooperation, public mobilisation and determined advocacy can achieve for vulnerable species.
Beyond rescue
Tatiana believes that society’s relationship with animals can only change through education and community involvement.
She has promoted charitable and educational initiatives involving local residents, farmers and children. Through cooperation with Stara Zagora Zoo, citizens and agricultural producers have been encouraged to donate surplus fruit and vegetables suitable for the animals living there.
Tatiana and her fellow volunteers have also organised charity markets to collect food, medicines and funds for veterinary treatment and animals housed at the municipal shelter. During these events, children take part in creative activities designed to encourage empathy, respect and responsibility towards animals.
Her commitment also extends to legal advocacy. Tatiana has reported cases of animal cruelty and the deliberate killing of stray animals to the competent authorities. She also supports initiatives calling for stronger penalties for animal abuse, improved animal protection legislation, greater safeguards for wildlife and the establishment of a national animal protection agency in Bulgaria.
A new chapter with OIPA
Becoming OIPA’s representative in Bulgaria marks the next step in Tatiana’s journey.
In this voluntary role, she will help expand OIPA’s presence in the country by developing joint campaigns and initiatives in cooperation with the international organisation. Her extensive knowledge of local challenges will be combined with the experience, visibility and good practices of OIPA’s global network.
Together, OIPA and Tatiana aim to promote spaying, neutering and animal identification campaigns; prevent abandonment; develop educational initiatives; strengthen cooperation among organisations, municipalities, shelters and veterinary professionals; and improve the protection of wildlife.
Tatiana’s goal is not simply to rescue more animals, but to help create a future in which fewer animals are abandoned, abused or left without protection.
As OIPA’s new representative in Bulgaria, she will continue giving animals a voice and bringing people together around a clear vision:
A home for every animal. Care for every living being. Responsibility from every person.
