WELCOME TO GREECE
"THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS"
Maria Antonopoulos
Pictures of horror which the eyes of an animal's friend will never forget. Pictures of sadism, a requiem of human apathy and irresponsibility. Charcoaled creatures neatly packed inside their cages of torture. Trapped behind bars, waiting in vain for the "master" who did not show up to foster them. Before he ever made it, the flames beat him to it, their least expected visitor, extending their slow, hideous death.
The neighbors still recall the yells and screams of agony of the 1500 captive animals, the merchandise of the Pet Shop at Vari- Koropi avenue in Attica. Fighting their feeble fight against the flames, at dawn of Tuesday October 24. No one was on time.or cared to be.
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After all, they were but animals. The fire sucked and absorbed every trace of life in the shop. A few hours after barking and chirpings gave their place to the unpleasant smell of charred meat and the torched flesh of the innocent. Puppies turned to a crisp, birds, monkeys, hamsters now lay behind the smoke-stained cages.
And a charcoaled puppy having barely managed to stick its foot and nose under the wire. Only a few more inches and it would break free. But no matter.
After all, it was but an animal.
If the "animal friend" pet shop owner, Mr. Bardakis, is to be believed, the fire was the result of arson, preceded by burglary. What items of value did the burglars lift, however, he could not himself account for. The only thing he could do, this trader of lives, was to keep running about, his hari a mess and cigarette in hand, lamenting fro his bankruptcy of his.
"I am the father of many and lost 120.000 Euros to this fire. How will I manage? And so many little souls are gone.; he kept declaring to networks, in the hope of shutting at least a few mouths.
It would be something of a joke under the circumstances to start wondering about modern means of fire security, since the only thing provided by the store were the hand operated fire extinguishers, most definitely placed there with an end view of saving human lives. Just.
The rest were but animals.
For them martyrdom was over once and for all. But hundreds of thousands of other living "goods" still have to climb the hill, day in and day out, carrying their own private little crosses. All by themselves, in the straitjacket cages of pet shops, under the piercing light that will just not go out. There they are, on display in pet shop windows, for us to admire. And if someday they suffer too in the hands of man's satisfaction, everyone will say.
They were but animals.
Maria Antonopoulos
(translation into English: C. Antonopoulos)
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"We cannot glimpse the essential life of a caged animal, only the shadow of its former beauty." Julia Allen Field (1937)
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Greek Newspaper Headline:
Charcoal - 1500 Animals
October 2006
Illegal Pet Warehouse, Under the Nose of The Greek Authorities ! Fire Fries 1500 Caged Animals Alive! No Escape From the Fury Of This Raging Inferno
Dear Friends:
We have not urged you to support any of our actions in Greece in a very, very long time. You all have enough on your plates. I saw the TV coverage of this horror on Greek TV just moments ago. Indeed, I got a glimpse of hell and I am shaking with sorrow and rage. Please do not let the animals in this country down. Animals have no borders. Please write to the officials listed below and voice your outrage.
Dear Sir/Madame:
The tarnished image of Greece around the world and its practice of brutality towards its companion and farmed animals is one which should conjure up shame in the hearts of every compassionate Greek.
The suspicious, illegal pet ware house fire of October 24th, that burned alive over 1500 animals (companion animals, monkeys and all types of exotics) in Vari, near Athens is clearly an indication of the apathy, absolute stupidity and the twisted priorities of state veterinarian Chryssa Dile of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry's inability and lack of desire to function on behalf of the animals under its jurisdiction. To compound the criminally negligent activities or lack of activities of the Ministry of Agriculture, government officials condone and support the rantings and destructive actions of a small group pf people led by Popi Baka and Ioanna Garagouni who are allegedly hell bent on destroying any semblance of animal welfare in Greece.
We plead with the press to address animal related issues with unbiased, intelligent reportage and a modicum of compassion. Please carry the torch for these innocent victims who are unable to speak out or control their destinies!We plead with the Greek government to take active steps to create a foundation of animal protection in Greece.
This tragic event is yet additional proof that the animals in Greece continue to exist in a virtual hell. This incident should be recorded for history as just another of Greece's failings.
In Athens and other Greek cities, you will find these pet shops on every corner. Most of them are illegal, something like animal welfare or fire safety measures are unknown in the shops and nobody cares about.
While the responsible department for animal welfare in the ministry of agriculture in cooperation with the among animal activists infamous Ioanna Garagouni and her supporters and the national veterinary association continue their destructive campaigns against animal activists from abroad and destroy one animal welfare project after the other, they open at the same time the doors for every animal torturer.
Operators of illegal pet shops, people who hate animals, owners who keep their dogs on chains and in old oil barrels, private animal hellholes called "shelter", hunting amateurs - they all have nothing to be afraid of in Greece. The "animal welfare" laws do not apply in their case; they serve only one purpose: to chase and fight the hated foreigners.
From Crete tourists and animal activists likewise report an increase of intensely tortured and suffering animals. The "animal welfare" laws, praised by the Greek authorities as being progressive, are trampled on in a thousand ways in every corner and every minute. As for animal welfare, this country has literally developed backwards. Due to corruption and idleness of the authorities, Greece moved back to the middle ages.
The agony of these 1500 animals should be reason enough for each tourist to think twice about their vacation destiny in the years to come.
Stefan Grothus
Report on the terrible fire in Athens on www.archenoah-kreta.com/start.php
To Whom It May Concern:
Death By Fire
Two evenings ago, the national news included the story of a man with 5 children to support watching his business burn to the ground in an Athens suburb. While nobody can deny that this was a catastrophe for the family and it was portrayed as such by the Greek media, the media failed to focus on the bigger tragedy, which is that over 1500 animals died of asphyxiation, something that should never have happened and that would never have happened if local authorities and the Ministry of Agriculture undertook their legal responsibilities towards animals.
The owner of this business, of his own accord, openly and freely admitted on national television, that his business was illegal, that he dealt in exotic animals and that he had no qualifications for owning a pet shop.
Why are local authorities and the Ministry of Agriculture allowing this to happen? We are not asking them to do the exceptional - only their job as required by law.
This is just the type of incident that places Greece under ridicule and censure from abroad and yet it is happening on a daily basis throughout Greece. Pet shops are opening all over the country. The living conditions of the animals are not in accord with Greek or any other European law. The animals are being sold without microchips, in varying states of ill health and with little instruction as to how they should be cared for.
If Greece wishes to improve its profile in animal welfare it is difficult to see where and how it is going about it.
Mary O'Connor
Greece
Letter Posted On The Yahoo Animals Rescue Site
Dear Sir/Madame:
I truly dont know if you will ever read this message, I certainly hope you will.
I remember your advertising campaign, Greece, Chosen by the Gods. Well, I really dont think any of the Greek Gods, being themselves a personification of the forces of nature, would have chosen to live in a country that decides to put the likes of State Veterinarian Chryssa Dile at the Ministry of Agriculture, in charge of animal wellfare.
I saddens me to see that the situation in your country ressembles so closely to what is happening with your neighbour, Turkey. This is certainly not something that should make you proud. Furthermore, you seem to be giving credit to a number of destructive forces in animal wellfare, people like Popi Baka and Ioanna Garagouni.
Athena, Artemis, Ares, Poseidon, all of them gods that lived their inmortal lives in close contact with animals would be ashamed of you... Lets hope Zeus soon loses his patience and decides to strike back.
Sincerely
Ivan Cortes
Madrid, Spain
Dear Sir/Madame:
I am horrified to learn of the suspicious, pet warehouse fire of October 24th that burned alive over 1500 animals (companion animals, monkeys and all types of exotics) in Vari, near Athens.
It is hard to imagine a country or a people who are more indifferent to animal suffering than Greece. This latest instance of animal cruelty, in a country where citizens walk happily by homeless dogs dying in the streets, is another example of the apathy and inhumanity of the state veterinarian Chryssa Dile of the Ministry of Agriculture. The Ministry's inability and unwillingness to function on behalf of the animals under its jurisdiction has created a living hell for animals in Greece.
Greece is a physically beautiful country that I will never visit. As an employee in the travel industry and an avid traveler, the most common comment I hear about Greece is ---"beautiful country but I will never go back --- just too much animal suffering".
I have been discouraged from traveling to Greece and I also discourage others. For anyone who cares even remotely about animals, visiting Greece quickly becomes a nightmare. In an age where animal suffering is less and less tolerated around the world, it seems foolhardy for a country that relies on tourism to survive to continue to ignore the welfare of its animals.
It is in its treatment of its weakest members that a nation reveals its soul.
The soul of Greece is stained with the blood of the hundreds of thousands of animals suffering within its borders every day. The people of Greece should be hanging their heads in shame.
Sincerely,
Janet Olson
Surrey B.C. Canada V4A 9E9.
www.betterlifedogrescue.org
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