Athens continues to poison dogs and cats for Olympics 2004 clean-up!

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Marijo Gillis

[twinkieperkyebby]

Saturday,

February 07, 2004 9:05 AM

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a Pity!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capital

letters

 

 

 

Rats limber up for Olympics after cat

cull

 

 

 

Helena Smith in Athens

Saturday February 7, 2004

The Guardian

 

I've always hated rats. And there it was, the sound of rustling in the

rubbish. At first we thought it was cats, but then we glimpsed their spindly

tails.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unperturbed,

they were crashing around inside the cans. In the somnolent, late-night darkness

it was scary. Plaka, the heart of historic Athens, had a

rat problem, then?

Come

to think of it, I hadn't seen a cat for some time; even my favourite

restaurateur, who once seemed to spend hours shooing them away, had commented

on the mysterious disappearance of the feline population.

" Athens

beautiful, Athens clean, " he grunted.

" For the Olympics. "

So

clean, I thought, watching the rats, that we now ran the risk of contracting

the plague.

Animal

welfare groups say they have lost count of the numbers involved in the

pre-Olympic cull.

The

local penchant for killing off unwanted cats and dogs, by lacing food with

pesticides, is not new. But in the final stretch before the games, it has

assumed an unpleasant vigour. If you're an early riser you'll encounter the

furry carcasses dumped in rubbish bins.

Since

Socrates, the practice of neutering has been opposed in this country on the

grounds that it offends an animal's machismo. A puss may end up drowned or

poisoned, but while alive it must be allowed to enjoy the pleasures of sex,

one of my neighbours explained.

The

population problem is not easy to tame. In central Athens alone, an

estimated 15,000 feral dogs lope about the pavements, crossroads and the

wooded limestone hills around the Acropolis. Often you'll trip over the

scrawny canines as you step into a cafe or bar. Most are believed to be

abandoned pets.

Given

the ongoing official reluctance to enforce animal protection laws, animal

rights groups are now lobbying tourists to boycott the games.

Until

recently, the notion of pets being guaranteed a minimum quality of life was

about as alien in Greece as the

idea that a dog is a friend.

This

was brought home to me when my fear of the rat tribe prompted a visit to the

local vet. I was sorry, I said, but I had spied rodents quite near my home.

Had he, perhaps, noticed that the cat population was unusually low?

To

my surprise he looked suspicious, and then angry. Did I not know that, often,

rats chased cats, he shot back. All this talk about Greeks not liking animals

was most unfair.

" In

Britain, your country, they believe in

euthanasia. Strays are picked up off the streets and if they're not

collected, they die, " he said.

I

only had to look at the recent surge in the number of pet shops in Greece to see

that attitudes towards animals had changed, he added.

Greeks

no longer see domestic pets purely as status symbols, and the demand for

pedigrees has declined.

Among

the young, the latest fad is the wallaby and green iguana, both of which are

readily available at your neighbourhood store.

" Teenagers

say the iguana is really in, " says Vasso, who runs my local pet shop.

" They may grow very big - longer than two metres, " she beams,

pointing to a set of the reptiles in a small glass cage.

" But they're also believed to

bring incredibly good luck. "

 

 

 

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Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers

 

 

2004 ATHENS OLYMPICS -

GREEK ANIMALS RACE FOR THEIR LIVES

 

 

 

 

 

SUPPORT a continuing

BOYCOTT of Greece and the 2004 ATHENS OLYMPIC GAMES

 

 

 

 

 

Marijo Anne Gillis -

Founder

WAG-New York (Welfare for Animals in Greece - a Lobby Group)

 

 

 

 

 

www.canadianvoiceforanimals.org/WAG_NewYork.html