Please click on the tabs to read " Press Releases" WAG issued before & during the 2004 Olympic Games"

There are many personal and professional websites that are appearing on the internet with  fingers pointing disapprovingly at Greece. Testimonials and photographs  give graphic evidence of vicious animal cruelty in Greece and are spreading steadily.  The news of greece's inhumanity will eventually spread like a virus via the vast internet, which services millions of compassionate people.  The international print and TV media will catch on very quickly.  

As the 2004 Athens Olympic Games loom ahead, reports of pervasive animal abuse in Greece circulate and the ensuing global concern will gather momentum and as a consequence, wreak havoc on the expectations and projected financial outcome of the Games.  This tragedy could so easily be avoided if the Greek government was truly willing to implement nationwide humane reform.  But the Greek officials disdainfully salute the world with their collective middle finger.

To date, government action in relation to nationwide, vicious cruelty issues are in what appear to be a perpetual state of inertia. Authorities choke on bureaucratic indecision.  Legal humane proposals sit idle before Parliament and the defenseless animals are taking the proverbial bullet for inhumanity.  In the interim, tens of thousands of innocent, unprotected, forgotten, abandoned animals are suffering and dying agonizing deaths via poisoning, hanging and shooting; as well as  by starvation and willful neglect.   At the same time billions of dollars are being spent on preparation for the Olympic Games infrastructure, airport, hotels, a new rail system, hotels, security and not a "drachma" has been spent to alleviate the suffering of sentient beings. 

This is a moral and social outrage.  When will this end?  The Greek government and her people appear to be keeping this a "state secret". 

Marijo Anne Gillis/WAG NY

Strays are not being poisoned, says minister
CORDELIA MADDEN

DEPUTY Agriculture Minister Alexandros Kontos on July 21 emphatically denied allegations in the British press that Greece's stray dogs are being exterminated ahead of the Games. Responding angrily to a Daily Telegraph article of July 11 entitled "Greeks to poison up to 15,000 stray dogs before the Olympics", Kontos said: "We categorically deny these evil-minded, malicious and unfounded reports that are aimed at libelling our country in the runup to the Games."

The deputy minister pointed out that new legislation to protect companion and stray animals introduced last year requires municipalities to round up homeless dogs and neuter and vaccinate them before release or adoption. He did not, however, mention how many municipalities have actually implemented this programme, nor how many animals have to date been sterilised under the new law. In addition, he noted that poisoning is a crime under Greek legislation. However, despite being a punishable offence since 1981, when law 1197 for the protection of animals was introduced, no poisoner has yet been fined or imprisoned in Greece. [On July 27, a landmark case will be held to judge a man, identified as George Limakis, who illegally entered a neighbour's house in Paleo Faliro and poisoned the Belgian Shepherd dog within. If he is convicted, it will be the first such sentence in Greece.]

The Daily Telegraph piece and the deputy minister's statement, which sparked a lengthy debate on state television channel NET on July 22, reflect the ongoing international interest in the fate of Greece's inestimable number of stray dogs (Attica alone is believed to be home to more than 25,000).

The latest salvo came from as far away as Canada, from within the Greek government's own camp. In an interview with the July 21 edition of the Toronto Sun, George Ayfantis, press spokesman for the embassy of the Hellenic Republic in Ottawa, admitted: "It's not a situation we are proud of. Local officials have extended autonomy and [poisoning is] done at night. It's considered a minor offence and public prosecutors and police don't want to go after elected officials." ATHENS NEWS , 23/07/2004, page: A08

A cry of protest against poisoning

ON JUNE 6, 43 animal welfare societies from around Greece are organising a protest against the poisoning of animals. Poisoning continues apace, despite being strictly illegal (it contravenes laws 1197/81 for the protection of animals and 3170/03 for companion and stray animals). In recent weeks, local charities have reported the deaths of 25 animals in Xanthi, 50 in Orestiada, 70 in Saronida, all the pigeons and cats in the area of the Panormou metro station in Athens, most of the strays in Kallithea and Korfos, Corinth, and much of the cat population of Eressos, Lesvos. The demonstration will be held at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma Square at midday. Everyone who cares about the continued killing of both strays and pets with poisoned bait is invited to come and join their voices to a united cry of protest against this barbaric and unlawful practice.

ATHENS NEWS , 04/06/2004, page: A05  Article code: C13069A052

Please click on the tabs to read the "World Press" articles published during the build up to the 2004 Olympic Games.

Athletes Enraged over Dog Killings

SAY COC SHOULD TAKE A STAND

By KEVIN CONNOR, TORONTO SUN

SOME OF Canada's Olympic athletes are outraged the Canadian Olympic Committee won't take a stand against Athens officials who are poisoning up to 15,000 stray dogs in the city so the country looks pristine during the games. "It's horrible, but it has nothing to do with us. We have no official comment," said COC spokesman Stacey Smith.

Since Athens officials are doing this for the Olympics, it has everything to do with the COC, said Olympic runner Leah Pells.

"It makes me sick. The COC is pathetic and they need to take a stand. It's embarrassing to me that they won't do anything," Pells said.

'ILLS OF SOCIETY'

"Sporting organizations can and should influence the ills in society," said Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler Daniel Igali.

Poisoning is a slow, agonizing death, Lynda Elmy of the Toronto Humane Society said.

"We should all stand up and there should be a huge outcry against this because we are sending athletes to the games. It's just appalling," Elmy said.

AESTHETIC REASONS

Athens officials have said the city needs to be dog free for the games for aesthetic reasons, said Dianne Alden of Greek Animal Rescue Canada.

"It's deliberate, appalling -- people need to know," she said.

It's not a situation we are proud of, said George Ayfantis, spokesman for the (Greek) Embassy of the Hellenic Republic in Ottawa.

"It's not automatic that 15,000 will be killed. Poisoning dogs is traditional but now illegal. Local officials have extended autonomy and it's done at night. It's considered a minor offence and public prosecutors and police don't want to go after elected officials," he said.

"There are animal lovers around the world expressing their fears. The embassy is doing their utmost for their cause."

Wed, July 21, 2004

Western Daily Press

OPINION

Political heads may roll in a few months if the Olympic Games prove the embarrassment for Greece that many are predicting, but some should be rolling already for not preventing a needless sacrifice in the name of success.

Winning the race to host the Games is a matter of great national pride for any country - and a unique opportunity to make a lot of people rich.

Greece put up a good bid for this year's event and had the extra edge of the sentimental vote for this celebration of the modern Games in its historical birthplace - but that cannot excuse what is happening as those involved seek to create the right image among the tourists and sports fans who will throng to Athens in August.

The Greek capital is famous for the number of stray dogs that roam its streets. Now it stands to become infamous for the killing that is taking place to make the streets a prettier site for the visitors. Such barbaric practices have no place in any civilised country let alone me one that claims to be the birthplace of Western civilisation. Naturally, nobody in official circles is willing to admit there is any policy of deliberately poisoning the animals, but animal rights' campaigners have absolutely no doubt that it has been sanctioned at the highest level. It can be no coincidence that the death toll has risen steeply as the Games near. The Greek Government cannot hide behind the introduction of laws demanding that local councils neuter vaccinate and microchip stray Animals before putting them back on the streets - it must find and jail the poisoners.

Only by protecting the lives of its innocent strays can it truly claim still to be civilised. Athens Still Sniffing for Solutions to Dog Problem as the Games Approach

Please click on the tabs to read the articles published by "Other Sources" regarding the 2004 Olympic Games

Greeks to poison up to 15,000 stray dogs before the Olympics
By David Harrison (Filed: 11/07/2004)

Thousands of stray dogs will be poisoned ahead of next month's Olympic Games in Athens despite a campaign by the RSPCA to prevent their slaughter. The animal welfare charity says that the strays will be killed because the Greek authorities fear that the sight of packs of dogs roaming the streets will damage their efforts to use the Games to show the world that their country is modern and civilised.

There are an estimated 15,000 stray dogs in Athens and although the government has taken some action to remove them from the streets without killing them, the RSPCA says that local authorities will not have the resources or the commitment to round up the animals and keep them in shelters during the Games. Officially, the Greek authorities say that there will be no mass poisoning and the Athens Olympics Committee has asked animal welfare groups to help round up the dogs. There are however, only one or two shelters in Athens that can take dogs and they are already overcrowded, so the Greeks face a choice of leaving the dogs roaming the streets during the Olympics or poisoning them.

Greece's fledgling animal welfare groups said that the mass slaughter of strays had already begun. Eighty dogs were recently found dead in the coastal resort of Saronida, where some members of the British team are expected to stay. One animal welfare activist said: "There has been a big increase in poisonings recently and we expect it to rise sharply as the Games get closer. We are doing what we can, with a lot of help from international organisations such as the RSPCA, but we are fighting against a culture that is deeply entrenched." The RSPCA has campaigned hard to improve animal welfare in Greece and in particular to end the practice of poisoning strays to control their numbers. The Greek government has expressed a desire to give more protection to animals and introduced tougher laws last year. Antonia Kanellopoulou, the deputy mayor of Athens, said: "Stray animals need our love."

The legislation has, however, had little effect and the RSPCA says that many local authorities in Athens and other areas hosting Olympic events will use the traditional method of poisoning the animals to clear the streets before the Games begin on August 13. David Bowles of RSPCA International, who recently returned from Athens where RSPCA inspectors were training Greek officials to catch and treat strays humanely, said: "We are seriously concerned that thousands of dogs will be poisoned so that Greece can show that Athens is a pristine modern city. They don't have the manpower or the shelters to round up all the dogs. A lot of the local authorities simply don't know how to deal with dogs humanely. We have put a lot of effort into helping them to change their ways, but the results have been very patchy. We would like to see them using private shelters so that all the dogs can be given homes during the Olympics but it looks like that is not going to happen." Mr Bowles said that mass poisoning was "barbaric" and a "short-term fix" that would not solve the problem of strays. Another senior RSPCA official said: "Greece's success in the European football championships in Portugal and now hosting the Olympic Games has undoubtedly boosted its prestige.

"They are desperate to make a success of the Games coming back to where they started. But they cannot call themselves civilised if they continue to poison dogs." Carol McBeth, the director of the London-based Greek Animal Welfare Fund, said that she was concerned about many areas outside the centre of Athens. "I think we may see poisonings in the places where the cycling, football and equestrian events are being held," she said. "They will be very keen to make sure that those areas are clear and they don't have shelters for the dogs." Poisoning animals is a criminal offence in Greece, but it is such a traditional method of controlling the stray population that many local authorities turn a blind eye to the practice and actively engage in it themselves.

Greece does not have the same tradition of caring for pets as Britain and many animals are dumped when owners become bored with them. It is illegal to have animals put down in Greece and there is no tradition of taking in strays.

The problem has been made worse by a "macho mentality" that finds it "unnatural" to neuter cats and dogs, although a neutering programme introduced by the government has had some success in Athens. Anastase Scopelitis, the Greek ambassador to London, who is in Greece on holiday, was unavailable for comment. An embassy official said: "Greece takes animal welfare seriously and our government has taken measures to improve our standards."

 As copied from news.telegraph.co.uk

Dogs' friends clash over rumors

Groups exporting strays for adoption reject claims animals are being sold for experiments, fur

ANA

Allegations that animal protection groups are sending Greek strays abroad for vivisection instead of adoption by foreign families are unfounded and insulting, activists charge. The rumors emerged after protection workers failed to provide the correct papers for transporting strays last month.

By Niki Kitsantonis - Kathimerini English Edition

Animal welfare groups in Greece and other European countries have been up in arms following reports in the Greek press alleging that well-known organizations, ostensibly sending dogs and cats abroad for adoption by foreign families, had actually sold the animals to pharmaceutical firms and manufacturers. The allegations emerged after animal protection workers, organizing the transport of two groups of dogs to Germany and Belgium, were stopped at Athens Airport last month because the official papers for the animals' export had not been those required by new legislation.

"It is true that the papers did not respond to new legislation but we hadn't been told we would need new papers," Carol McBeth of the Greek Animal Welfare Fund (GAWF) said. "In any case, the dogs destined for Belgium were sent last week after the right papers were submitted," she added. One of the provisions of legislation passed in Parliament last November requires municipal approval for the transportation of animals abroad, along with a confirmation that they are not destined for vivisection. But the fact this provision was not adhered to in one case does not mean the animals were bound for laboratories, animal workers charge.

"Claims that dogs are being sold for 30-35 euros each are ridiculous. Their transportation costs more than this," McBeth said. "The accusations by the media, that these animals are meant for experimentation purposes in laboratories in Germany and other countries, and that their fur is to be made into coats or shoe leather are vicious, ludicrous and utterly without substantiation," according to Katrin Achek, spokesperson for Animal Respect Deutschland which has established animal shelters on the islands of Aegina and Agistri and coordinates the adoption in Germany of resident strays. There are currently around 120 dogs at the Aegina shelter but "a long-term life in the shelter cannot be in the spirit of animal welfare" according to Achek, so she and her associates use their network of contacts in Germany, the UK and other countries to find suitable families to adopt the strays.

Those at the source of allegations are uninformed about the work carried out by animal welfare groups, Achek maintained. "They really have no idea. We work in our spare time to raise the money needed to fly out the strays and get them immunization and medical treatment," she said.

However, new European and Greek laws mean that immunizations and health certificates are no longer sufficient to document the proper export of animals. They must be fitted with microchips, have the official certification of the municipal authorities, the veterinary department and the Department of Agriculture and the existence of their new owners must be proven. Ioanna Garagouni, a senior official of the Confederation of Animal Protection Societies of Greece ? who was involved in stopping the planned transportation of the dogs last month ? insists that the problems at the airport last month were due to the non-adherence to new legislation by the group organizing the export of the animals. She queries the motives of foreign groups spending so much money to import Greek strays instead of running an adoption campaign for their own strays. And she is skeptical about the final destination of the dogs and cats being sent abroad. "We see a few photo albums showing a few families with dogs they say are happy. But where are the thousands of animals (being exported) ending up?"

Asked whether she believes that Greek strays are being sent abroad for vivisection purposes, Garagouni did not categorically state that she did but retorted, "What other explanation is there for the thousands of strays being sent abroad from Greece?" (Garagouni could not cite a source to prove that thousands of animals are being flown out of Greece.)

Indeed, speculation that Greek animals could be destined for laboratory testing or sold for their skins has not been substantiated by any source to date. "There are fears but there is no evidence," Liana Alexandri, head of the Hellenic Animal Welfare Society, told The Associated Press earlier this month.

But some foreign animal protection groups believe such speculation is willfully misleading. "One could get the impression that this is a systematic campaign against foreign animal welfare groups to cover up what really happens to the dogs and cats on the streets of Greece," Alfred Schaefer, the head of an animal protection organization in Cologne, said about "defamations" in the Greek press in an e-mail sent to Kathimerini's Greek Edition. In his e-mail, Schaefer demanded a public apology from the media and the intervention of the Agriculture Ministry in favor of authorized foreign organizations.

"I would say that the habit of poisoning unwanted animals ? which we see in Athens and the rest of Greece ? is still the most common day-to-day procedure of stray control. This happens at any new construction site and twice a year all over Greece," Achek claimed.

But the discovery of 60 poisoned dogs in Athens's National Gardens last year and less-publicized reports earlier this month that another 40 dogs were killed in Saronida have fueled speculation among animal rights groups that poisoning will be used as a cheap and easy way to clear the streets of Athens before the Olympics. Indeed, animal protection groups claim that at least 3,000 stray dogs had been fatally poisoned by the end of last October. However, there has been no proof that any particular body or group has been systematically poisoning stray animals.

On the contrary, Athens authorities have been running a "catch, neuter and release" scheme for stray animals and a parallel adoption campaign, with Athens Mayor Dora Bakoyannis reportedly adopting two dogs herself to set an example to her fellow citizens.

But some animal welfare groups maintain that the necessary infrastructure for the tagging and collection of strays is not in place at the local level.

Indeed, Achek charges that the lack of consensus between local authorities and the government on working with animal shelters "makes cooperation literally impossible ? with the best will in the world."

Nevertheless, the eventual arrival of five stray puppies in Belgium last week suggests that animal welfare groups are getting to grips with new laws and are continuing their adoption programs, undeterred by rumors and red tape.

ALPHA TV   14/7/2004

"STRAY CRIMES"

After having read the articles on how the largest British animal welfare organization disapproves of the way Greece is handling the strays in view of the Olympic Games, the residents of the city of Herakleio were stirred up at the sight of tens of wounded animals.  The people report that the municipal employees were stacking the strays in a truck to remove them from being in the way for the torch race.

The municipal employees of Herakleio tied the strays under trees and bushes.  According to the local residents the strays were transported, piled on each other, in a truck and during the drive they started biting and cutting each other up.

One of the locals had her camera and recorded a dog dying a slow death after being bitten at the throat and the chest.  Another puppy had lost its eye while several dogs remained wounded and chained to tree trunks.

On Tuesday morning members of animal welfare groups met with the chief of the local police station of Aghia Marina, at the establishment where the journalists will be set up during the Olympics.  They reported that tens of animals have disappeared on this site and they claim that there is an organized plan to wipe out the animals.  A little later, when they asked to see the animals,  the animals were gone.

After the articles in the English press regarding the killing of 15000 animals in Greece, the largest British animal welfare organization emphasized that our country is considered the "black sheep" as far as the strays are concerned.  As the Games get closer the reactions of the animal welfare groups are expected to escalate.

By Neil Trent - HSI

In ancient times, when the Olympic games were as much about religious observation as they were an athletic competition, animal sacrifice played a central role in the festivities. The gods of Mt. Olympus were feted with the steady flow of blood. On the final day, no fewer than 100 cattle were slain on the altar of Zeus, the undisputed king of the hill.

This summer the games are returning to Greece, where they were first celebrated in 776 B.C. While no official sacrifices are planned, many in the animal welfare community fear a massacre is forthcoming.

Athens teems with stray dogs. Non-existent animal control policies, a lack of shelters, and a national resistance to keeping pets at home have allowed this problem to mushroom to the point where an estimated half million homeless pooches roam Greece, some 15,000 in the center of capital alone. Now, with the city poised to bask in the international spotlight, these unfortunate creatures could face animal control of the cruelest kind.

Call it poison ball. Someone in Greece has learned to play a very nasty sport. Visitors to the national gardens came upon the ghastly aftermath on New Year's Day 2003: scores of dogs and cats lying dead among the lush greenery, apparent victims of strychnine-laced balls of meat called fola ("poison ball") in Greek. Animal advocates in Greece have documented numerous cases of stealth massacres, including one last August in which nearly 3,000 street animals were culled while Athenians blithely enjoyed their traditional vacation period.

Government officials have emphatically denied any involvement in the indiscriminate killings, though that hasn't stopped animal protectionists from pointing fingers in their direction. After all, as animal advocates note, the mass killings tend to happen on the eve of high-profile events. For instance, the national gardens massacre occurred just as Greece assumed the presidency of the European Union.

Death by strychnine is slow and extremely agonizing?hardly in keeping with land that gave the world the word euthanasia, or "good death." The ironies aren't just etymological. There is strong objection in Greece to putting down sick animals humanely, by such means as injections of sodium pentobarbital. The country also has shown an aversion to commonsense spaying and neutering programs that would help keep the population of feral dogs and cats under control.

For years, animal welfare advocates have fought to get Greek authorities to adopt humane policies, and many hoped the Olympics would give their crusade an important boost. For a fleeting moment those hopes seemed well placed.

In November, the United Kingdom-based World Society for the Protection of Animals hosted a conference in Athens to discuss humane solutions to the dog problem with Athens Deputy Mayor Tonia Kanellopoulou, among others. I was at that meeting, along with representatives of another UK animal organization, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, as well as a number of Greek groups. We felt more than a little encouraged when officials signaled their resolve to solve the canine conundrum.

But reality has not borne out the hopeful rhetoric of that day. Following the gathering, the Agriculture Ministry issued a report, proposing the creation of more shelters to warehouse animals for longer periods of time, and little else. The report did not address how the animals would get to the shelters or how to keep tabs of these mom-and-pop facilities, some of which have notorious track records of neglect and cruelty. The plan also gave short shrift to spaying and neutering programs, and sidestepped the thorny issue of euthanasia altogether.

So here we are just months from the start of games, and there's no pragmatic plan for dealing with these street animals who literally beg for scraps at sidewalk cafes or force tourists to sidestep them on their way to the Acropolis. The Guardian of London reports that animal protection activists "have launched a mass evacuation campaign, transporting the strays by plane, train, truck and bus to new homes around Europe." Yet this mostly cosmetic approach seems to address only the symptoms, not the underlying causes.

For their part, the Greek authorities are scrambling to do what they can. Athens Mayor Dora Bakoyanni has reportedly adopted two strays, and last year her office announced a 10-point plan to address the canine and cat crisis. Among other things, the mayor's plan calls for the round up, sterilization and adoption of stray animals. On the national level, the government has passed a law that penalizes Greeks for abandoning their pets to the streets.

All of these are small steps in a long journey toward a more humane Greece. Moving forward, the Greeks should continue to improve registration and licensing procedures, place feral animals in approved and appropriate shelters, and implement effective sterilization programs. We can only hope that the next time the Olympics come to Athens, the street dog problem will be a dismal chapter from the past.

May 2004 - THE SITUATION OF STRAY DOGS BEFORE THE UPCOMING ATHENS' OLYMPIC GAMES:

Delay of the implementation of the programs for stray dogs

Three months before Athens' Olympic Games and in the context of Law 3170 published in July 2003 which notably makes the municipalities responsible for implementing Catch-Neuter and Release programs, we aimed to find out how the situation of stray dogs in Athens and its suburbs evolves.

Several detailed press releases and articles were published regarding the measures taken by the municipality of Athens concerning stray dogs. Athens is the most active municipality on this subject. According to an article of the national daily newspaper Ta NEA, dated March 5^th, 2004, the municipality of Athens carried out 500 sterilizations/vaccinations since the adoption of Law 3170. According to the same article, the municipality's goal is to sterilize and vaccinate all stray dogs of Athens till 2005.

Our objective was to concentrate on the other municipalities of Attica which will also host Olympic events (or villages) but do not have the financial means of the municipality of Athens. 

Interviews of municipal representatives

We point out that we mention at the end of this newsletter the names and phone numbers of the municipal representatives that we interviewed. This information could be useful to animal defenders in Greece. 

It emerges from our interviews that, except some scattered sterilizations, most of the municipalities did not undertake any serious and efficient management program for stray dogs. It is the case of MARATHON and PERISTERI municipalities, where municipal representatives did not hide their complete indifference towards stray dogs.

FALIRO and NEA MAKRI municipalities also did not take any measures for the management of stray dogs. In NEA MAKRI, the local association receives no financial help and has to cover all the expenses for the sterilization/vaccination of stray dogs. The representative of FALIRO told us that the municipality aims to start collaboration with Helliniki association. GALATSI municipality, which also chose to collaborate with Helliniki, registered only 8 operations for stray dogs since the beginning of the year.  MAROUSSI is more active, since 200 sterilizations/vaccinations have been done since 2001. As for the municipality of ZOGRAPHOU, we have been told by the president of the local association Kivotos, that the municipality collaborates with the association and lends a park which accommodates 30 stray dogs; all vaccinated and sterilized (females). 

Several municipalities such as MARKOPOULO, PALINI, HELLINIKO and VOULIAGMENI pointed out that they lack financial means to implement a management program for stray dogs. MARKOPOULO and HELLINIKO interrupted their collaboration with local associations because they did not have any budget. Same case regarding VOULIAGMENI, which made 27 sterilizations in 2003, and then stopped its program. The objective of PALINI is either to build a clinic/shelter, or to enlarge and improve the premises of the local veterinary. All these municipalities count on a financial help from the Ministry of Agriculture to implement an efficient management program of stray dogs.

We would like to indicate that the municipality of VIRONAS is particularly active compared to the relative average. Indeed, the municipality participates financially to sterilizations; it implemented an adoption program (leaflets, post up) which permitted to 50 dogs to find adoption families since last Christmas; and it also set up the municipal Committee for stray dogs. 

Interview of Theodora KRITIKOU, representative of DI.KE.P.A.Z in Shisto.

(Tel: 210 400 72 25)

DI.KE.P.A.Z is an inter-municipal center, which collects and provides medical care to stray dogs at the clinic of Shisto (south-west suburb of Athens), and which can host 100 dogs. DI.KE.P.A.Z collaborates with the following municipalities:

Mrs. KRITIKOU informed us that more than 1000 dogs have been taken care of at the clinic during the last 14 months. She told us that a veterinary examines each dog arriving at the clinic, and makes vaccinations. Surgery operations are made by different veterinaries, in rotation. The dogs are kept at the clinic from 10 days to a month, and then are released. 30 to 50 very sick or wounded dogs have been euthanazied. Since 2004, males are castrated too.

We questioned Mrs. KRITIKOU about the formalities needed for the collection of strays from the 11 affiliated municipalities of DI.KE.P.A.Z. We were surprised by the heavy bureaucratic nature of the system. An official collection demand in writing must be addressed to DI.KE.P.A.Z. and the intervention delay can be of several days. Such a procedure is at the least inappropriate for emergency cases. Besides, we were informed that only one of the two collection trucks is operational due to lack of personnel. 

It is thus necessary to provide additional human and material means for the proper functioning of this structure.

Among the affiliated municipalities of DI.KE.P.A.Z., we interrogated the representatives of PIREAS, ILION and NIKEA, who were not able to inform us on the number of sterilizations in their municipalities, since the beginning of the program. Mrs. Alexatou, municipal representative of NIKEA pointed out that the municipality aims to collect and enclose stray dogs during the Olympics.   

Visit of the shelter "VET" which collaborates with the municipality of Athens (April 24)

Greek shelters having a reputation of deplorable functioning conditions, we wished to visit the one collaborating with the municipality of Athens. The shelter, which is also a clinic, is in Markopoulo, on the way to Porto Rafti. We were agreeably surprised by the living conditions in the shelter. The boxes are clean and the dogs have enough space. We must precise that our visit was not expected. 

The shelter's director explained us that the dogs arrive in the shelter under the supervision of the municipality of Athens; they are already treated by Athens' vets and are all vaccinated and sterilized on their arrival. The shelter/clinic hosts and takes care of the sick, wounded and sterilized dogs until their recovery. The confinement period varies from one week to 20 days. The dogs who are not adopted are released on their living area. Since the beginning of the year, 40 dogs have been adopted. An adoption contract is signed in the shelter, while Mrs. Kanelopoulou, vice Mayor of Athens, is the municipal coordinator of the program.   

Conclusion

The outcome of our interviews confirms that the number of sterilizations in the municipalities of Attica is very small compared to the size of the stray dog population. Besides, it is infrequent to see a stray dog wearing a collar and an identification tag, in accordance with the Law 3170. 

As the major problem, according to the municipal representatives, is the lack of financial means, we questioned the Ministry of Agriculture on this subject. Mr. ANANIADIS, associate of Mr. KONTOS (vice Minister of Agriculture), informed us that the Decree signed under the previous government concerning the financial aid towards associations and municipalities (for the amelioration/construction of shelters and the implementation of the CNR programs) has been put on hold for a revision of the budget. We were not able to obtain any further precisions by Mr. ANANIADIS.

As for the Committee "Athens 2004", it recently organized a meeting with several associations' representatives, asking their collaboration on a capture and confinement program for the stray dogs during the Games. The question is to know where the authorities count on placing the thousands of dogs concerned. We did not receive a clear answer on this issue by Mrs. PETROPOULOU. 

In this context, the fears expressed by numerous associations of an increase of poisonings are more than ever suitable. A massive poisoning took place in Saronida, where an English delegation is planned to adobe during the Games. According to different media, more than 80 dogs, as well as cats and birds were killed. It would be surprising that a poisoning of such an extent was the act of a single individual. The national authorities deny all wish to suppress stray dogs. Still, the inexplicable disappearances of whole groups of stray dogs were noticed during the last few months.  

Contact: AFIPA GRECE

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