Sadly, it’s a common occurrence in Greece— and no matter how sophisticated the visitors are or how “chic” the island claims to be— the barbarism and cruelty to animals remains.

As is the case on many islands and tourist areas in Greece, as soon as the season ends and the tourists go home— mass poisons become commonplace.

They’re called “fola” in Greece. Unscrupulous humans add poison to food and spread it out to the unwilling victims. Within minutes the cats (or dogs) are dying a terrible death.

The problem of mass poisoning is persistent across Greece and not limited to rural areas, but as evident from this incident, happens in areas that attract some of the most famous tourists in the world.

To tackle the animal overpopulation problem on another island and to hopefully prevent this sort of thing from happening there, the New York City-based Greek America Foundation will send a team of 12 volunteer veterinary students led by a registered doctor to conduct a high-volume spay and neuter campaign.

By limiting their ability to reproduce, you limit overpopulation, according to Dr. Anna Katogoritis, who will lead the Greek America Foundation’s team.

“It’s the only humane way to handle the problem,” Dr. Katogiritis said.

The mass poisoning was reported by a Greek animal website called zoosos.gr and included photos of the feline massacre, claiming by the witness that there were twenty victims and two cats that survived the mass poisoning at Super Paradise beach.

In the original story on zoosos.gr there are also photos which we have chosen not to include in our story but can be viewed by clicking the link.