New Minister of the Environment orders audit of foundation where he previously served as a board member

Hungary’s new government has ordered a full review of a state-funded animal protection foundation whose spending and procurement practices have raised a series of questions. However, the minister who initiated the audit, László Gajdos, was himself a member of the foundation’s board of trustees until May 2026.

The Animal Protection Is Our Common Cause Foundation(Közös ügyünk az állatvédelem Alapítvány) was created by the previous Fidesz government through legislation adopted in 2022 and was registered in early 2023. Unlike ordinary NGOs, it receives guaranteed funding from the state. Its public funding has increased rapidly: from HUF 255 million (EUR 700,000) in its first year to an annual budget subsidy of HUF 1.7 billion (EUR 4.67 million) by 2026.

After the change of government, Átlátszó submitted a freedom of information request to find out how the foundation had spent its public funding. The data was released only after the statutory deadline, when the foundation published the information on its own website.

Our analysis of the foundation’s financial reports and grant data found that less than half of the public money it received was distributed in the form of grants and other purpose-related payments to animal protection organizations and projects, while personnel costs and other expenditures accounted for a substantial share of spending.

Finished TV show, unfinished shelter

The foundation disputes this interpretation. It says it should not be judged solely on the amount of funding passed on to other organizations because it also carries out animal protection programs itself. These include professional training, educational programs and animal-assisted activities. According to the foundation, more than 1,700 professionals have taken part in its training programs, animal-assisted activities have reached more than 25,000 children in almost 600 institutions, and its scholarship scheme has supported 257 people.

The spending records nevertheless contain several noteworthy items. Among the largest beneficiaries were municipal dog pounds, dog parks and an animal protection center. The foundation also financed a television program called *Mancsok és Tappancsok* (“Paws and Paws”), produced by Média Center Kft. and broadcast on the pro-government commercial channel TV2, at a cost of nearly HUF 65 million (EUR 178,500).

Another contract obtained by Átlátszó shows that

in June 2025 the foundation commissioned New Land Media Kft., a company owned by Gyula Balásy, for a net HUF 196 million (EUR 538,300) under a framework agreement managed by the then government communications office (NKOH).

Balásy is known for his role in producing state-funded propaganda for the Orbán government. Over the past decade, Balásy’s companies monopolized state advertizing, earning tens of billions of HUFs from government contracts.

We requested the detailed contract through a freedom of information request, but it had not been provided by the time of publication. The foundation’s website also lacked the legally required list of its contracts worth more than HUF 5 million (EUR 13,700).

Questions have also arisen over some infrastructure projects. Nagydobos and Kompolt, two villages with populations of around 2,000, each received HUF 30 million (EUR 82,400) for dog shelters. Construction or renovation has been carried out at both sites, but neither was operational when Átlátszó contacted the municipalities. A new facility in Eger, supported with HUF 25.6 million (EUR 70,300), passed technical handover in June 2026.

Animal feed tender may have restricted fair competition

A separate Átlátszó investigation also found indications that a HUF 63.8 million (EUR 175,200) public procurement for 116 tonnes of animal food may have restricted competition.

The foundation launched the five-part open public procurement tender in late 2025 for dog food, cat food and bird feed, marked as “Advent donations”. In several categories, however, the required ingredients were described in extraordinary detail, giving the impression that the tender was designed so that only particular products would be eligible.

For example, the requirements for premium dog food closely matched Happy&Fit products, while some cat-food specifications corresponded to Cat Vital and Matisse products. According to information obtained by Átlátszó, the relevant Happy&Fit and Cat Vital products are distributed in Hungary by Alphavet Állatgyógyászati Zrt.

Only two companies submitted bids in each of the five lots: Alphavet and Rainer-Pet Kft. Alphavet won all five.

Rainer-Pet, however, failed to provide requested supplementary documentation, including information about its references and even details of the products it intended to supply. As a result, it was never established whether the company could actually have fulfilled the contracts.

The foundation rejected the suggestion that the tender had restricted competition. It said the technical specifications did not require any particular brand, manufacturer or distributor, and that bidders were expressly allowed to offer equivalent products meeting the specified requirements. The foundation also said the detailed nutritional requirements reflected the different needs of animals cared for by animal protection organisations.

However, the specifications in some cases prescribed not only particular ingredients but extremely precise proportions of ingredients such as chicory, colostrum and dried cranberry. Átlátszó filed a public-interest report over the procurement.

The controversy now has an additional political dimension.

László Gajdos, currently the Tisza government’s minister responsible for the living environment, was a member of the foundation’s board from its establishment until 1 May 2026.

The foundation previously told Átlátszó that, together with the other trustees, Gajdos had participated in approving the procurement plan that included the disputed animal-food tender.

In August, Gajdos announced that the foundation had been transferred under his ministry and ordered a comprehensive audit of its operations. He said that after the review the board of trustees would be reorganised and the foundation would be placed on stronger professional foundations.

Átlátszó asked Gajdos whether he believed the foundation had operated properly during the period when he himself sat on its board. The minister did not respond by the time of publication.