''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. 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.''
Part of contents of Email from Mrs Vesna Jones, Founder of Greek Animal Rescue
URGENT! URGENT! URGENT! OUTRAGEOUS ACCUSATIONS AGAINST ANIMAL RESCUERS!
PLEASE POST WIDELY AND PROTEST LOUDLY! THESE ANIMALS NEED YOUR HELP
FOREIGNERS ARE BEING ACCUSED OF ILLEGALLY 'COLLECTING' AND SENDING STRAY DOGS FROM GREECE TO GERMANY, HOLLAND, BELGIUM AND OTHER EU COUNTRIES, INCLUDING THE UK, TO BE SOLD TO VIVISECTION LABORATORIES OR TO BE SKINNED FOR THEIR FUR. GREEK ANIMAL WELFARE VOLUNTEERS HAVE ALSO BEEN CAUGHT UP IN THIS WEB OF SLANDER AND LIES
As if to divert people's attention from the real horrors of animal abuse happening daily in Greece, malicious allegations against 'foreigners' resurfaced once again at the beginning of March. We are of course talking about the totally ludicrous AND unsubstantiated claims that stray dogs from Greece are being sent to Germany, Switzerland, Holland and other EU countries (yes, including the UK!) for 'experiments undertaken by cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies and for manufacture of furs'. What's worse, these lies were repeated on Alpha TV channel on 11 March, after a 'dramatic' seizure from the 'clutches' of ... well known animal rescuers of six puppies (who were being taken to Belgium for rehoming). As a result of the above report and other related newspaper articles, suddenly everybody in Greece is talking about 'Greek strays being sent abroad for cosmetic experiments and fur trade'. If the situation were not so serious, it would be comical. How ironic that suddenly everybody should be so concerned about the 'poor' strays, yet they barely glance at those they see on the street. A German animal welfare volunteer helper recently summed it up nicely in one simple sentence: 'it's the bad people are trying to make themselves look good by making the good people look bad'. How true!! Nasty rumours spread like wildfire in Greece and people are quick to believe them, after all, it's easier to point a finger at foreigners and question their integrity, than take an honest look at themselves and how they treat their animals.
If you want to read the full article together with links to letters exchanged click here
Cats and their kittens are regularly poisoned,
the poor cats of Greece suffer a very short 'life'.
I used to feed the cats of Mavrikiano Hill Elounda Crete, used to catch them for neutering by Arche-Noah Kreta's volunteer vets. They were all decimated overnight by poison put down deliberately to kill the entire cat population who used to spring out from all the bushes when they heard Skilaki and me approaching. Total devastion of the 'bin' cats of Mavrikiano Hill above Elounda Crete. Luckily some of the cats were clever enough to stay near my home, they escaped this ... for a while.
