Greek street dogs

Athens, Crete, Paros and Santorini, Greece---Having been to Greece before, I was aware of the stray street dog population. I was curious to see what the status was after the 2004 Olympics when they made an effort to do something.

Sadly, there were just as many as I remember. Being a dog lover, it is just overwhelming. Below is some information. On Paros, a local organization named PAWS sells before and after postcards of Dogs and Cats that have been rescued. Most puppies are found by trash bins and weigh less than 1 kilo!

FROM: www.greecetravel.com/mazarakis
"...dog catchers in Greece used to step in and round up as
many strays as they could. The strays were held in the local municipal dog
pounds for a period of no more than 90 days, and if no one claimed the
dogs, they were typically then put to sleep.
This system kept the stray dog population down to a manageable level up
until about 10 years ago. At about that time, a local animal rights
activist group found out about a particular dog pound that kept their dogs
in miserable and inhumane conditions. They visited the pound and filmed the
scene. Then they took their evidence and presented it to the local District
Attorney who in turn issued a warrant for the responsible mayor's arrest.
That mayor was charged with the crime of "maltreatment of animals" which is
a very serious offense in Greek law. He was convicted and sentenced to
several months in prison along with a stiff monetary fine. As a result,
almost every municipality in Greece dissolved their dog pounds and fired
their dog catchers. " (from www.greecetravel.com/mazarakis )

FROM NBC SPORTS WEB SITE August 6, 2004; Athens, Greece - Thousands of stray dogs being rounded up before the Olympics are not in danger of being killed or subjected to harsh treatment, Greek officials said Thursday, despite growing international concern about the animals' welfare.
"We are very sensitive about this issue ... I am at the disposal of anyone who wants to inspect the conditions under which these animals are being kept," Deputy Agriculture Minister Alexandros Kontos said.

Animal rights groups say as many 15,000 dogs could be snatched from the streets in greater Athens over the next week, and have expressed doubts over the government's pledge to free the strays after 45 days.

Kontos, in charge of coordinating the collection with municipalities, said about 1,000 dogs had been placed in kennels so far, under a $4.8 million program sponsored by the ministry.

Government estimates have placed the capital's stray population at under 5,000. Stray dogs are a familiar site in Greece and for decades have been left free to roam city streets.

Earlier this week a group of strays were discovered the Olympic Village after evading a massive security sweep of the site by police and soldiers. The government and Olympic organizers say they are strongly opposed to euthanizing street animals and insist their neuter-and-return schemes are working.

"Our country has been slandered abroad over the issue," Kontos said. "Animal rights groups do not have a clear position. We believe our program is protecting these animals. We will not change our targets."

On Tuesday, the London-based World Society for the Protection of Animals called on Greek officials to assure strays will not be mistreated. WSPA spokeswoman Susan Sherwin said the government and the International Olympic Committee had failed to respond to the organization's request to give details about the mass collection.

"This problem is very close to being swept under the rug and our fear is that thousands of dogs are going to be inhumanely rounded up an euthanized," Sherwin told The Associated Press, speaking by telephone from Framingham, Massachusetts.

"We need some transparency and to know what is happening to the animals," she said. "It's highly dubious that 15,000 dogs are going to be rounded up and kept somewhere and will be released after the Olympics."