SPREAD THE WORD! A HOLIDAY IN GREECE? A tempting idea, but if you are an animal lover ... Poisoning of stray - and owned - dogs and cats is widespread throughout Greece and it occurs on a daily basis. Those responsible for spreading around poisoned bait are rarely caught in the act and usually the bodies of their victims are picked up by garbage collectors in the early hours of the morning. The poisoning is often excused as a necessary and cheap cleaning up operation of the large numbers of stray dogs and cats which are seen as a problem. Some people fear the strays would ‘spread disease’, others consider them a nuisance, especially when their numbers increase. Sterilisation is not common for household companion animals, because it is regarded as a negative intervention in the animals’ nature, but their owners refuse to take responsibility for the unwanted litters of puppies and kittens, which are usually abandoned. In short, many people seem to view poisoning as a ‘fact of life’. The poison used can be anything from strychnine and rat poison to farm pesticides and herbicides; even crushed glass. WHEN THE TOURISTS LEAVE ... The average life-span of a stray dog in Greece is less than two years, as most of them perish during the winter months, if not shortly after the holiday season comes to an end. The last charter flights depart from the islands at the end of October, by which time most of the hotels and tavernas have closed down for the winter. The strays, so dependent on the tourists for food during the summer, are left to fend for themselves, not knowing where their next meal would be coming from ... poisoned bait may be their last morsel, if they are not shot, or hit by a car, or hanged first ... Millions of tourists from all over the world visit Greece every year and many are shocked by the sights of animals in distress. They often befriend and feed the strays, who are generally very friendly and loving ... they just want to 'belong' and they try very hard to find somebody to adopt them ... the lucky few succeed. YOU TOO COULD ADOPT A GREEK STRAY ... and give him/her a chance of a happy and secure future THE KILLING MUST STOP! Even rampant poisoning is not recognized as an official problem! There are hardly any reports made to the police. And despite their anger and sorrow, the somewhat cynical and lax response from the owners of animals poisoned to death shows that they do not trust the judicial system; some even fear it. So it appears that poisoning will long remain acceptable within the Greek culture, as long as the authorities themselves show total indifference to the problem. ANIMAL PROTECTION LAWS Greece has adequate animal protection laws, but in general, they are not enforced! We can all try to ensure that they are enforced whenever possible. If you happen to witness a cruelty case, please report it to the police and the municipalities - which bear the responsibility for the stray animals. Article 2 of Greek law 1197 states:"Whoever kills, harasses, or ill-treats animals covered by the present legislation, or abandons them, is punishable by article 8 of the present penal code." HOW YOU CAN HELP This leaflet has been prepared by a coalition of animal welfare groups throughout Greece and supporting foreign organizations. The purpose of the leaflet is to draw attention to the country’s appalling animal welfare problems and to ask for your help. Tourism is Greece’s number one industry and the authorities will pay attention to the complaints registered by foreign visitors, especially now that the country is preparing to host the next Olympic Games ... to take place in 2004. With your help, the authorities in Greece can hopefully be persuaded to adopt a humane ‘stray control’ policy, by implementing widespread neutering programmes. We ask that you please write to: the Prime Minister Costas Simitis: mail@primeminister.gr , the Minister of Agriculture, Mr Georgios Drys: ax2u082@minagric.gr and to the Minister of Tourism, Mr Dimitrios Georgarakis: president@gnto.gr - urging positive action to resolve Greece’s animal welfare problems. Also please sign an on-line petition at: http://www.petitiononline.com/OG2004/petition.html . align=baseline> Please send this email on to those who care about the plight of animals anywhere & everywhere ... Animal suffering knows no boundaries, language or creed, but ...'all the darkness in the world can't put out the light of one small candle' THANK YOU FOR CARING ============================== Olympics 2004: Anti-poison Campaign continues in Greece SPAZ (Society for the Protection of Stray Animals, Glyfada, Athens, Greece) recently issued the following statement: Anti-Poison Campaign continues in Greece but under different guidelines. The Ministry of Agriculture has strongly denied that they have any intention of carrying out a mass poisoning of strays before the Olympics. They have replied to our accusations in Greek and English and at a meeting with Ministry officials, they have told us in person; THEY SAY THAT THEY HAVE NO PLAN TO POISON THE STRAYS. We have no reason to doubt them. But we also feel that all the letters sent to them discouraging them from carrying out such a campaign may have influenced them to seek saner alternatives. So thank you to everyone who did write the government and Greek tourist organization. Since we began this campaign last fall, a lot of
things have happened. WSPA met with the Ministry of Agriculture and suggested
a program to deal with the strays before the Olympics - the main thrust
being to collect the dogs and put them in municipal shelters (with set-up
money from the EU). Secondly, there is no need for all strays to be collected; many live in protected neighborhoods where they have been neutered, vaccinated and tagged and are fed and looked after by the local people. Could the Ministry cooperate with local animal welfare groups about these protected strays? It makes no sense to pick them up and put them in shelters, as they are no threat to those attending the Olympics. Lastly, and more importantly, what will happen to these dogs in these shelters? Will they become dog concentration camps? There are already a number of shelters in this country which qualify as nothing more than this. SPAZ and other groups have been trying to close one shelter down in which the owner keeps dogs in cages tied to the ceiling; after years of contacting Ministry officials, petitions, photos and videos showing the horrendous condition in which the animals are being kept, NOTHING has happened. The government says we have no right to go in and rescue these animals no matter how much evidence we have that they are being cruelly treated and they refuse to close it. And this is not the only 'shelter' run in this way. Animal welfare groups are, therefore, understandably wary of the government proposal to set up dozens (perhaps hundreds?) of dog shelters. They fear that the dogs will simply go there and die. There is a rumor that the city of Athens is already collecting stray dogs and putting them in a shelter somewhere or perhaps putting all of them down. There is no proof of this, but considering the hysteria generated by the word euthanasia in Greece, if the city were in fact collecting dogs and putting them down, they could hardly admit it. If they are collecting them, people want to know where this shelter is. There is much going on that is secretive and this worries all of us in animal welfare. Even though the government says they are NOT planning any poison campaign, it is a fact that each year, there is a culling of stray animals by poison in this country. Who carries it out? The educated guess is both individuals and municipalities. The present anti-poison campaign is targeting this practice. We need to educate people that this is not the solution to the stray animal problem. It is both extremely cruel and illegal to poison strays. And not only strays get poisoned. Many homed animals also die as a result. Mykonos is the best example... poisoned food was thrown into the yards of about 30 local residents a few years ago and many animals died. Part of the education process also discourages people from abandoning their animals, something occurring quite regularly in Greece. Abandoned animals only add to the stray population and in areas where local strays are neutered and maintain a stable community, a new stray dog always creates a problem, both for the dogs and humans. The general population is against poisoning animals. So it is hoped that with time, education, more neutering, vaccinating and homing, the tide will turn and poisoning strays will NOT be considered an alternative. If you want to send a letter to any government authority or to the Greek Tourist Organization, please encourage them to work for humane and intelligent programs to decrease the number of strays. Suggest that they encourage local officials to discourage poisoning of strays. Suggest that they consider a state-wide free neutering program. Suggest that they cooperate with local animal welfare groups since they have been the ones working for years to solve the stray animal problem and have the most experience in dealing with strays. Elizabeth C. Koubena ADDITIONAL CONTACTS THAT SHOULD BE MADE AWARE OF THE SITUATION IN GREECE. PLEASE WRITE TO THE FOLLOWING: THE EUROPEAN UNION EU Direct e-mail: mail@europe-direct.cec.eu.int EU Environment: envinfo@cec.eu.int |