Continued Animal Torture!

[Guest guest]

PLEASE, please CROSS POST, as yet another heartbreaking Greek

Update.

 

THOUGHTS from someone in ATHENS, GREECE to the CIVILIZED WORLD!

 

 

Press Release

 

Athens,

Greece 24.01.04

 

On Wednesday, January 21, 2004 GREEK TV viewers were horrified

upon seeing the morning program of ERT 3 " Ç ¢ëëç ÌÝñá» (The Other

Day) which featured the GOD awful " Animal Shelter of Northern

Greece " , at Peraia, Thessaloniki. At this `exclusive' shelter for

abandoned and abused animals, amidst animal feces and carcasses,

one saw emaciated dogs, most with appalling skin diseases, and

maggot crawling in open wounds.

 

Viewers saw the poor dogs fighting over a stale, filthy loaf of

bread, while little paraplegic and blind souls desperate and

terrified, dragged themselves in front of frightened puppies and

dogs suffering in the last stages of Leishmaniasis, a horrifying

disease, causing intolerable suffering. Oh, by the way, in the

past, Cannibalization has also been a featured item for viewing

audiences.

 

 

 

For the thousandth time, TV viewers were witnessing the blatant

violation of all animal protection laws by `shelters' and the

indifference of the Greek state. What is the point of legislation?

Can someone tell us???

 

True to form, despite this documented evidence of an Animal

Auschwitz, the Greek government remains indifferent and mired down

in inertia and perhaps plain, old, unadulterated inhumanity.

 

(Let us bring up once more, the ahem, mysterious disappearance of

thousands of abandoned dogs as the City of Athens prepares for the

2004 Olympic Games!and the magical disappearance of their carcasses.)

 

A guest featured on the morning program was Mr. Patikas, Director of

the Veterinary Directorate of Thessaloniki, who constantly referred

to the " notorious " new law, gazetted in July 2003 under No. 3170

entitled " Companion Animals, stray companion animals and other

provisions " , without even once whispering the words " companion

animals and sentient beings " , and also withholding the very

pertinent fact that he represents the responsible body for the

implementation of the new law!

 

The same Mr. Patikas, in October 2003, after receipt of official

complaints was forced to inspect the above mentioned shelter and

concluded that everything was perfectly in order! Perhaps this

gentleman is missing a chromosome?

 

Furthermore, throughout the duration of the program, Mr Patikas

failed to explain how, after only two and a half months, the

disgusting situation which the camera was revealing shot-by-shot,

had developed. Naturally, he did not see fit to propose immediate

intervention by the authorities to relieve the animals' suffering,

although the health and welfare of animals is his responsibility.

Needless to say, he did not inform viewers where the dead animals

were buried!

 

It would seem that in Greece, laws are voted in parliament to

justify the existence and salaries of the 300 MP's; thus law 3170

was passed – full of promise - but without the slightest

infrastructure for its implementation. Yet another law to seduce

and mislead and destined for the rat eaten files of the House of

Parliament, as is the travesty of a law, whose provision defines

that the state reply within 15 days to a citizen's written request.

Otherwise a certain concerned party would have received a reply to

her letter of September 4, 2003 in which she complained about the

reprehensibleg conditions in the above shelter. " Concerned party "

addressed her letter of complaint to Prime Minister Simitis,

Agriculture Minister, Drys, New Democracy Party Chairman

Karamanlis, Agriculture Deputy Minister Hadjimichalis, Prefect of

Thessaloniki MPsomiades, and Director of Vet Directorate

Thessaloniki Patikas, Mayor of Peraia Mantzari, Mayor of Corfu .

Mastoras, Director of Vet Directorate Corfu and the Prefect of Corfu

Machmari..

 

If the Fathers of the Nation are not disturbed when, through their

own failings, Europe considers us barbarians, rude and arrogant

Balkans, they should not be disturbed at the boycott of the Olympic

Games and the influx of hooligan tourists at the summer resorts.

 

A call a " spade a spade " Greek animal rights organization, " run by a

phenominal Greek, raised abroad, is waiting to see whether the

famous Greek `filotimo' (reciprocal duty to honour) exists…..Because

if it does, then every member of the Pan Hellenic Veterinary

Association should undertake without charge, blood testing,

treatment and neutering of the animals at the `Shelter for Strays

Northern Greece', and this is the minimum they should undertake in

view of the promises made at their meeting in 2000. As for the

Veterinary School of the University of Thessaloniki, it should

always actively contribute towards relieving the plight of the stray

animals.

 

In 2004, the year of `Volunteering', the government should

encourage in every possible way those distinguished veterinary

surgeons of the European Union (amidst them, professors of renowned

universities) who offer their services free of charge throughout the

country, to neuter and treat desperately sick stray animals. On the

contrary, with its indescribably idiotic bureaucracy, the government

is, indirectly, ensuring that no such help shall be available to the

strays, ever. God help the animals of Greece