"The camels crossed the border and will be at their destination in two hours," said a spokesman for the camels' owner, the Bulgarian Stefani ART circus.
A truck carrying 20 camels from the southern Russian republic of Kalmykia to a circus in Bulgaria was stopped by Ukrainian customs officials after crossing the Russian border on January 31. Customs agents checked all of the documents and cleared the truck containing the animals to leave Russia, but the truck was not allowed into Ukrainian territory.
One of the camels died of asphyxiation during the wait at the border before the animals were finally allowed to transit Ukraine on February 12. Another camel sustained a leg wound that was discovered at the Moldovan-Romanian border.
The camels arrived at the Romanian border on Saturday but were not permitted to enter the country "because of problems with the certificate not being translated into Romanian, English or any other language that is used in Romania," Marjana Terba, a spokeswoman for the Romanian Agriculture Ministry said on Monday.
The circus spokesman said that as soon as the animals arrived they would be checked by veterinarians, who would take blood samples and quarantine them for three days, after which they would be free to work.
He said that after training, the Kalmykian camels would become part of a circus act. "This is exotic for Europe," he said. "We have chosen the camels and will train them, then hand them over to the circus."
