If you’re living in another country and are thinking of visiting
Greece but are put off by the stray animal situation, please re-consider.
Not
only does the economic survival of the country depend on tourism but the
physical survival of the stray animals also depend a great deal on tourism.
You
can help the strays of Greece by visiting this country. You can help them in
a number of ways – direct attention paid to an individual stray
is of course of primary importance but your kind and tolerant attitude towards
stray animals can help change the attitude of people here. And if that’s
not enough to convince you, many a tourist has come across a stray cat or
dog that has grabbed his or her heart and taken the animal home with them.
| Here’s some practical guidelines: | |||||||||||||
| 01 | You are visiting a Greek island and
sitting at a taverna and when you look down, you see the hungry eyes
of a cat. Feed it but follow a few simple rules so you don’t
alienate the taverna owner/waiter. Don’t put a plate down for the cat; use nothing or a napkin. Cats love meat and fish (don’t hesitate to order a dish that you want just for them); don’t give them fried potatoes or other food which they might nibble at but leave on the ground. Whatever they don’t eat, pick up so there is no mess. Put water in an ashtray for them but when you leave put the ashtray back on the table. If the waiter tries to shoo the cat away, protest in a diplomatic way. You are the customer and can make such demands. When you leave the taverna, praise the waiter (or even better the owner) for their kindness to the stray cats and tell them that you will definitely come back because the food was good too. The fact is that most taverna owners will follow the attitudes of their customers when dealing with the stray animals. |
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| 02 | If you see a sick or wounded animal, try and help.
Ask if there is a local animal welfare group; as where the local vet
is; ask the hotel
clerk where to get help; be persistent and don’t take no for an
answer. An injured cat can be put inside a box (punch some air holes
in it); a small injured dog can be carried to the vet; a large dog is
more problematic but don’t give up. Some visitors have been known
to involve the mayor of the town to get help.
If you have access to the Internet, you can send an e-mail to:
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| 3 | If you have been looking after a particular animal during your visit and decide you want to take it home, talk to the local animal welfare group about how to do this or e-mail one of the above groups for information. While shipping all the strays out of Greece is not the answer to the problem, if a few can go to good homes in Europe, it’s worth all the trouble and expense. Most groups are familiar with how to go about this as it is not unusual for a tourist to decide to take an animal home with them. | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Support the local animal welfare group; visit their animal shelter if they have one, or their office. Donate money to them if you can, or offer to buy food. Ask them what you can do to help from your own country. Become a member of their group and keep in touch. For many animal welfare groups in this country, it is the support of people like you from different countries of Europe or elsewhere that has provided them with much encouragement to continue working to help the strays in their area. | ||||||||||||
| 5 | If you see someone committing an act of cruelty towards an animal,
say something. Do something! Do it calmly but forcefully. Remove the
animal if you can. Call the police. Protest loudly and be persistent.
Report the incident to the hotel where you are staying; report it to
the police and the mayor’s office. Write Athens News (this English
weekly is on sale all over Greece). Write the RSPCA when you get home;
write the Greek mayor; write members of the Greek Parliament, the Prime
Minister and the Ministry of Agriculture (who is responsible for stray
animals). You can find their addresses on the Greek Government website. Your voice can play a very important part in helping change the attitude towards strays in this country. |
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