Streets of shame

[Guest guest]

Streets of shame

Saturday July 24, 2004

The Guardian

 

Forget the drama of next month's Olympics - the real Greek tragedy

is the nation's appalling record on the welfare of animals, says

Justine Hankins

 

I am completely indifferent to spectator sports, but the build-up to

next month's Olympic games has been difficult to avoid. On top of

months of press coverage about construction delays, my inbox has

been jammed with outrage: " Greek tragedy over stray cats and

dogs " ; " Give the strays a sporting chance " ; " The shame of Greece " .

That gives you a flavour, but you need to see the photographs of

poison-contorted canine corpses to get the full picture. Rumours are

circulating about the possible fate of the 10,000-plus stray dogs

currently living on the streets of Athens as the capital prepares to

present a squeaky-clean face to the watching world.

 

The Olympic torch brings with it the gleam of publicity, but it's

not always good news for the host nation. Dead dogs grab headlines

as easily as gold-medal winners, and organisations from across the

world plan to use the Olympics to highlight Greece's poor animal

welfare record.

 

Greece has one of the highest populations of stray cats and dogs in

the developed world, despite the efforts of animal welfare charities

such as the RSPCA and the World Society for the Protection of

Animals (WSPA) to help fund and implement stray animal programmes.

As a result, there are few well-run animal shelters in the country,

no culture of adopting strays and the indiscriminate poisoning of

unwanted colonies is not uncommon.

 

During the holiday season, strays are sustained by scraps from well-

meaning but misguided visitors, who write " Greek cats are so

friendly " on postcards with photos of charming cats posing next to

chipped pots of geraniums or lounging in front of blue-painted

doorways. What the tourists don't realise is that once the resorts

shut up shop for the winter, the cats face a lingering death by

poison or are simply left to starve.

 

Concerns about the state of Hellenic pets draw a hurt response from

the Greek authorities, who rebut suggestions that they are not doing

enough to tackle the problem. Dora Bakoyianni, the mayor of Athens,

has gone so far as to set a new tone of compassion to curs by

adopting two street mutts.

 

The Greek government recently agreed to release funds over a three-

year period to welfare groups, and the Athens 2004 organising

committee has joined up with the ministry of agriculture, municipal

authorities and the PanHellenic Federation of Veterinarians to carry

out a stray control scheme. Dogs will be collected, vaccinated and

neutered, then - and here's the problem - released back on to the

streets.

 

The current situation in Athens is both cruel (life expectancy for

strays is about two years) and also a public health issue. Quite

simply, bustling streets are not the natural environment for any

dog. What happens if the dogs are ill or injured? No vaccination

will stop a dog causing road accidents or biting people, and who's

going to scoop the poop? Joy Leney, director of operations at WSPA,

says, " Neuter-and-release programmes are not appropriate in modern

European cities - a large, busy city like Athens shouldn't have dogs

roaming around. "

 

WSPA's stray animal programmes are modelled on World Health

Organisation recommendations. " It's not just an animal welfare

problem, " says Leney. " It's a problem for society as a whole. The

government has to take responsibility because the humane management

of strays is part of social development and progress. "

 

Athens 2004 hopes its stray initiative will help change attitudes

towards, according to a spokesman, " a current problem that defames

Greece " . It remains to be seen whether a sporting event is enough to

persuade Greeks to neuter their pets and put their dogs on a lead.

 

GuardianPets