OLYMPIC TERRORISM

[Guest guest]

From : Humane

Society of the United States

 

http://www.hsus.org/ace/21409

 

 

OLYMPIC TERRORISM

 

Animal Groups Wants Athens to Show Homeless

Dogs Some Olympic Spirit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Athens, Greece was awarded the Olympic Games in 1997,

long before the dot.com bubble burst and terrorists began to trigger the

world's fight-or-flight response on a daily basis.

But

because of infighting and union troubles, Greek officials didn't start Olympic construction

plans until after the turn of the century. With less than four years to not

only modernize the ancient country's crumbling infrastructure but also to build

whole new athletic facilities, the International Olympic Committee and sports

fans across the globe chewed their collective nails waiting to see if the

Greeks could actually deliver on their promises before the games officially

opened on August 13.

 

Almost from the moment Athens, birthplace of both

the modern and ancient Olympics, was awarded the games, animal activists seized

the golden opportunity to work with Greek officials to address an old problem:

the estimated 15,000 street dogs who roam the city. In fact, Humane

Society International and other worldwide animal

groups began talking to Greece more than three

years ago in hopes of finding a holistic solution to the problem. But despite some

promising early movement, little has been done to deal

with Greece's homeless canine

population, whose roots lie deep within the country's laissez-faire attitude

about animal ownership.

It would seem that, in the end, Greece has thrown billions of dollars at completing the Olympic

construction on time, but has provided only lip service in dealing with the dog

problem.

" HSI and other animal organizations

offered to implement a humane animal control program a long time ago, back when

the Greeks still had plenty of lead time, " said Neil

Trent, executive director of Humane Society International.

" If the Greeks had taken up these offers from the beginning, they could

have had a program in place that would have substantially reduced the number of

dogs on the streets. Not only that, but they would have shown the world that Greece had made

progressive, humane strides in dealing with its homeless animals.

" But instead they procrastinated to

the Nth degree, " Trent added. " Now

they find themselves in this glaring spotlight: Athens wants to prove it is a

modern city ready to host one of the world's greatest events, but from our

point of view, the city is still stuck in ancient times, when animals were seen

as disposable. "

Stuck in the Starting Blocks

With the opening of the games just days

away, animal protectionists fear Greece's procrastination

will lead to some unfortunate decisions for thousands of street dogs. There's

already anecdotal evidence of this, although it's not exactly clear who in Greece is making such

life-or-death decisions.

A source told HSI on August 4 that 22 dogs

turned up dead near the Port of Piraeus, the largest and

busiest port in Greece and the gateway to Athens. The pooches were allegedly

poisoned, although no independent sources have verified this. Another 80 dogs

were reportedly found dead in Saronida, a seaside

community, not far from Athens, were some British

athletes are staying. The cause of death is unknown.

If poison were involved in these cases,

they would fit the pattern of how Greeks have traditionally dealt with their

homeless animal problem; Greek and international media outlets have previously

chronicled dogs and cats killed with so-called " poison balls, " little

strychnine-laced wads of meat known as fola.

Meanwhile, a Melbourne, Australia newspaper reported

on August 4 that nearly 100 stray dogs were " trapped inside the athletes'

village at the Athens Olympics, causing

safety concerns for organizers and teams who have already arrived for the

games. " The paper reported that security officials may have inadvertently

locked-in the pooches when they locked down the athletes' village in order to

keep out potential terrorists. Greeks authorities have been notified to remove

the animals.

But there's the rub: Where do you take

these animals? Athens apparently has only one municipal

shelter; the other three or four shelters in town are small, private

operations, places so overrun with animals that they offer little comfort to

the four-legged charges in them.

The mayor of Athens had earlier called

for a program in which strays were rounded up, sterilized and then put up for

adoption. There's scant evidence that the city has embraced the new policy.

International animal protection groups were also looking at adopting dogs to

willing people in other countries.

" The bottom line, " says HSI's Trent, " is that time

has run out for good, humane solutions. The best we can hope for now is that

Greeks take the time and effort to humanely round-up these animals and find

reliable shelters in nearby cities. Many animal lovers and activists around the

world, however, worry that Greece will poison dogs on a massive scale, just to

expediently rid the country of an eyesore and a potential public health

problem. "

Trent hopes that Greeks

will actually embrace one of the " essential missions of the Olympic

Movement " : protecting the environment. According to its web site, the

International Olympic Committee " sees to it that the Olympic Games are

held in conditions which demonstrate a responsible concern for environmental

issues and works to promote a policy of consciousness-raising among the members

of the Olympic Movement in order that all sports events may take environmental

considerations into account in a responsible way. "

The way we see it, Trent says, the environment should include every one of those

unfortunate dogs who roam the streets of Athens.