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.
Is The Pappas Post worth $5 a month for all of the content you read? On any given month, we publish dozens of articles that educate, inform, entertain, inspire and enrich thousands who read The Pappas Post. I’m asking those who frequent the site to chip in and help keep the quality of our content high — and free. Click here and start your monthly or annual support today. If you choose to pay (a) $5/month or more or (b) $50/year or more then you will be able to browse our site completely ad-free!
Click here if you would like to subscribe to The Pappas Post Weekly News Update
1 comment
Knowing what I know about the over population of stray dogs and cats in Greece, are you sure that the spay / neuter offer of assistance will be legally permitted? There have been many offers of S/N from other vets from abroad but unfortunately they were not allowed to do so. Facebook page Tails from Greece Rescue. We have homed over 500 dogs and cats from Greece to loving homes in Canada.