Filenews 13 July 2022
The Police are very sensitive to issues related to animal abuse and mistreatment, said an officer of the Communication Branch of the Force, calling on citizens to immediately report such incidents.
On the occasion of a complaint by the Cyprus Society for the Protection of Animals (KEPZ), for the inaction of the authorities regarding an incident of storage of two dogs in a cage of tins in an area of the Nicosia district, Eleni Constantinou, an officer of a communication branch of the Police, told the CNA that they have had several complaints so far that have been investigated, while people were also brought before a court.
Specifically, the President of KEPZ, Toula Pogiatzi, said in a post on social media and in an announcement that two dogs were trapped in a cage formed of tins for the sides and roof.
According to her, a telephone complaint was made to the Veterinary Services "which requested that the complaint be sent by fax or e-mail. Unfortunately, the person who reported has neither fax nor e-mail." Then, he says, the same person called the Animal Police, "which is practically non-existent," Ms. Pogiatzi added.
"I declare responsibly that the law on the protection and welfare of animals is lagging behind", added Mrs. Pogiatzi.
In response to a question, Ms. Constantinou said that the members of the Police are immediately activated to investigate any information related to such cases. "For this reason, the Animal Police has also been set up recently, and with a number of our members staffing this service in all police departments nationwide," he said.
He added that these members have been trained to be able to handle such cases while their training is ongoing.
"We have had several complaints so far which have been investigated, and individuals have also been brought before a court," he said.
Citizens can call the central telephone numbers of the Police Directorates (ADE) of each district and from there, they will be connected to a competent person of the Service who will be tasked with recording the complaint and starting an investigation, added Ms. Constantinou. [ Paphos ADE 26 806060]
"We call on the public, in case they become aware of such an incident, to inform us immediately, so that we can proceed together with the other competent authorities for the welfare of the animals," he said.
Ms. Constantinou clarified that when someone calls an ADE and contacts the Officer of the Police for animals, he will be called to make a written complaint, and then the investigation of the complaint begins.
CNA
