Guest guest Posted November 27, 2002 Report Share Posted November 27, 2002 This is a world wide press release. If any of you have your own personal contacts with the press, please forward this on to them ............. radio, tv, newspapers and magazines. Thank You. CIDAG PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release NOV 27TH, 2002 Greece: no holiday for the stray cats and dogs Animal abuse is widespread in Greece and includes starvation, neglect, cruelty and poisoning. Poisoning of both strays and owned pets happens every day; documented witness reports of this practice are abundant and have even been shown on Greek television. Offenders are not prosecuted or fined for this illegal activity. Given the current frequency of poisoning cases, it is also a concern that the numbers will increase dramatically as the country prepares to host the 2004 Olympics. Greece is famous worldwide as the cradle of human civilization. Yet this civilization fails to extend to the many stray cats and dogs found all over the country. The large numbers are a result of a lack of spaying and neutering of privately owned pets, whose litters are left in parks, on beaches and on garbage dumps. When an animal is no longer wanted it gets dumped and left to breed on the street. Given that a bitch can have several litters annually, the numbers are forever increasing. The traditional method of Greek animal control includes poisoning, feeding of finely ground glass in food, and shooting the animals. Ironically it is deemed unkind to spay and neuter pets, but not to leave a litter in a plastic bag to die or on the street to fend for themselves, barely able to crawl. Many tourists and Greeks alike are appalled at seeing hungry, thirsty and ill animals but, so far, the Greek Government has remained inactive. The task of animal welfare has been left to private groups, often with little funding and no support from local communities. Many groups have undertaken spay and neuter activities, only to find the animals poisoned by a taverna or hotel owner, or anyone else who wants to get rid of the problem. However, not only stray animals are poisoned in Greece. Owned dogs are also at risk from anyone who sees them as a nuisance. The Solution Setting up shelters would be both a costly and an inefficient method of solving the problem as the number of animals is such that not even a fraction of them would be adopted. Most of the cats are feral and cannot be re-homed. This would ultimately mean euthanasia, an unacceptable and inhumane way of dealing with the issue. Additionally, removing the strays from the streets would leave a void, which will be filled with something else, rats for instance. Also, a much larger food territory will be available for the remaining strays, which means larger litters and healthier animals. Adding to this the continuous abandonment of animals, the stray population will replace itself in a couple of years. The only viable, and the cheapest solution, is a full-scale spay, neuter and release program. CIDAG – Coalition in Defense of Animals in Greece The coalition was launched in June 2002 with the objective of lobbying the Greek Government to assume responsibility for the welfare of its stray cats and dogs by implementing a nationwide spay, neuter, vaccination, identification and release program, combined with education on responsible pet ownership and enforcement of existing animal welfare legislation. The coalition consists of 26 animal welfare groups and has collected tens of thousands of signatures in support of their campaign. Public action needed To add your voice to the campaign go to http://www.petitiononline.com/OG2004/petition.html and sign the online petition. For information on how to help further write to cidag and see our web site http://www.paw-europe.com/olympics.html ######### Photos available: puppy with poisoned mom, attached. Also available in higher resolution. For more information, press only: contact: Anne Scheving, tel: + 32 498 45 77 04, e-mail: anne.scheving For more information on CIDAGhttp://www.paw-europe.com/olympics "Live in peace with the animals. Animals bring love to our hearts, and warmth to our souls." Colleen Klaum "He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." Immanuel Kant Be the voice for the voiceless, join our group today: CorrectTreatment/ Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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