BY CORDELIA MADDEN

 NEIL Trent, executive director of Humane Society International of the USA (HSUS), visited Athens recently to investigate rumours regarding the fate of stray animals before the 2004 Olympics. He had heard from various sources that mass poisoning was being planned from this September onwards, and indeed was already starting in some areas. "If the International Olympic Committee (IOC) observes a problem with stray dogs, it will instruct the government to deal with this. The knee-jerk reaction of the Greek government, as of many other governments faced with the necessity of immediate action, will most likely be poison. It is common practice to throw poison in the quiet of the night, and remove the bodies before dawn without the public noticing. This could indeed result in a reduction in the number of animals (owned and stray) at the time of the Games - although if tourists start seeing poison victims writhing and frothing, there will be an uproar resulting in a marked decline in tourism - but after the event there will actually be more animals than before. This phenomenon has been noted by the World Health Organisation (which is not interested in animal welfare, merely in the spread of rabies). If you have one hundred dogs in an area and kill off 80 by poisoning, the 20 that remain will overcompensate. They will give birth to more puppies, which will thrive because there will be more food available. Also other dogs will join that pack because there is a source of food and water that is not being used to capacity. WHO has said 'Kill policies do not work'."

Minister of Agriculture George Anomeritis has already responded to the poisoning charges with a definite denial. The ministry has proposed subsidising 75 percent of the costs of establishing shelters to accommodate the strays of Athens. If the animals are not claimed or given to new owners within a specified period of time they will be put to sleep. ATHOC has said that it will follow the Ministry of Agriculture's lead on this issue.

Thirty-one Greek animal welfare societies signed a petition to the government urging them not to pursue a poisoning campaign or set up the shelters that they believe will quickly fill to capacity, resulting in the death of huge numbers of healthy animals. Instead, the welfare societies suggest the government should start a full-scale neutering programme of all dogs and cats - male and female. The money that the European Commission provided to partially fund the shelters could be used to subsidise the veterinary fraternity and enable sterilisation to be carried out for free.

No specifics have been disclosed as to what kind of shelters the ministry is planning, whether just a fenced-off area of land containing all the animals, or purpose-built refuges set up according to international standards. The qualifications and motives of those responsible for running the shelters have also not been revealed. No information has been given on how the running costs will be met, and what method will be used to put down the animals.

Mary Cochran of Friends of the Cat, one of the signatory charities, says: "Now is not the time to start up shelters. They cannot possibly cope with the numbers of stray and abandoned animals that exist, so they will resort to euthanasia immediately, without regard to whether the animals are already sterilised and vaccinated and therefore presenting no threat to public health or safety. If municipal shelters are opened people will stop neutering - why would they bother to pay out to sterilise a colony of cats or dogs - which they are doing now - if they know the government will pick them up and put them to sleep?"

Neil Trent agrees that Greece's undeniable problem with stray animals (there are 300,000 stray dogs in Greece - half of these are in Athens; the number of cats is inestimable) needs to be addressed now with a long-lasting, three-pronged solution. "Legislation, sterilisation and education. Owners must be made more responsible for their pets. Licences need to be introduced and fines levied. The money from these licences would go towards subsidising sterilisation. An enforcement body should be established to make sure that licences are obtained and pets are kept humanely. Humane education must be introduced throughout the country," Trent explained.

"Athens has a lot of 'community' dogs and cats that are fed by a group of people but do not actually belong to anyone. These animals could be sterilised, checked by a vet, tagged or microchipped and returned to the street. If animals are spayed or neutered, healthy, identified and cared for by one person or a group of people (often charities) there is no reason why they cannot continue to live on the streets. They are unable to procreate and unlikely to cause problems," Trent said.

He also said that "if the Greek government would meet us halfway, international NGOs would be enthusiastic about setting up such a programme for humanely reducing the numbers of strays in Greece. It is too big an issue for one organisation to tackle alone, but four or five could, with the help of the government, dramatically improve the situation in Greece by 2004. The strength of this programme lies in its coalition with large, experienced animal welfare organisations. This is the only system of animal control that has proved to be effective. Now is Greece's opportunity to show that it has a compassionate heart, that it is an enlightened society. Mahatma Gandhi's saying that you can judge a country by how it treats its animals has been flogged to death but it's still very true," Trent concluded.

Neil Trent did not meet representatives from the ministry of agriculture on this visit, saying that it "would not be appropriate" until he has spoken to other international humane societies. He spent two days with Hellenic Animal Welfare Fund, with which the American Humane Society works, learning about the situation in Greece, meeting members of the animal welfare community, sharing his experiences in other countries which have tackled similar problems and being interviewed by the press.

What can you do to help?

Contact Minister of Agriculture George Anomeritis on 212-4387, fax 363-1389 or send an email to anomeritis@parliament. gr to inquire about the humane treatment of animals in Greece.

Also send your inquiries to the general secretary of the Greek Tourism Organisation, Evgenios Giannakopoulos, adding that poisoning stray animals will seriously deter tourists from visiting Greece. Tel 327-1566, email president@gnto.gr
 
 

ATHENS NEWS , 03/08/2001

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Sample Letter

I was concerned to learn that, in preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games, your government is looking into ways of dealing with the 'stray problem' and that it is feared mass poisoning will take place, especially in and around Athens, although I am aware these 'rumours' are being strongly denied. However, I can't help but wonder what other alternatives are being considered, especially if a widespread neutering scheme is not the accepted option and that, I believe, is the only long-term solution to resolving the 'stray problem'.

It is also the most humane method of reducing the number of unwanted stray dogs and cats. Leading up to and during the Olympic Games, the eyes of the world will be focused on Greece and a positive decision by the authorities - in regard to strays - would be looked upon favourably by the international community. News of harsh and cruel treatment of a country's animal population travels quickly in our age of the internet, and has a strong impact on how a country is viewed by the tourist community. In contrast, implementing humane alternative solutions for animal population control, would receive much positive press.

To round up the strays and place them into temporary 'shelters' would serve no purpose either; in fact, it would make matters worse [for the animals!]. Whatever decision is finally taken by your government will be awaited in anticipation, but I can but hope it will be the right one - for both the animal population as well as for the reputation of Greece as a civilized nation.

 Sincerely,