Filenews 30 January 2023
Dog abandonments exceed 250,000 a year, said the President of the Cyprus Society for the Protection of Animals, Tulla Pogiatzi, adding that the situation today is worse than ever.
Speaking at today's press conference, in Nicosia, on the issue of animal abuse in Cyprus, Ms. Poyatzi said that all dog shelters without exception are overcrowded, while herds of stray dogs circulate in the mountains, villages, cities, livestock areas and the buffer zone where they come into contact with animals from the occupied areas.
''Malnourished, abused as they are, they devour mouflons, hens, rabbits, sheep and goats, and even cats. The case of the appearance of rabies and the reappearance of echinococcus does not seem to be of concern to the Veterinary Services and the competent Ministry", he added.
She also mentioned that animals have rights to this and international conventions have been made for their protection and welfare and where necessary their killing should be done in a way that does not cause them pain, fear and suffering.
She noted that the Republic of Cyprus signed in 1990 the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection and Welfare of Animals and in 1994 put it into force with special national legislation no. 46(1)94 and added that there is also the Law on Dogs, which had been amended to comply with both the Council of Europe Convention and Law 46(1)94. In 2002, Ms. Poyatzi, the amendments came into force and became more binding on dog owners.
At the same time, she said that the competent authorities for the protection and welfare of animals are the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment and the Veterinary Services, while recently a special police force for animals was created. The competent authorities, she continued, for the dog law are the Local Authorities.
"The above competent authorities for the protection and welfare of animals are under-functioning or non-existent. In the few cases where they respond and inspect the place where the complaint was made, they are limited to advice only. The Local Authorities have so far failed to implement the law. The Community Authorities admit and declare that they cannot apply the law because of the close kinship or acquaintances that exists between residents and the Community Authority", he added.
She also noted that most dogs do not have chips or registration.
"There is no control over the conditions of detention of dogs by their owners. Absolutely no control over ownership/responsibility. Dogs belonging to dangerous breeds are bred and sold uncontrollably - by law they should have been neutered. These are the most basic provisions in the dog law that by implementing them would prevent uncontrolled possession, breeding and abandonment," she added.
Referring to the Government's decision to create five more shelters, one in each province, for stray dogs, Ms. Poyatzi said that unfortunately, those in charge, the state, cannot understand that shelters will not solve the problem of thousands of stray dogs.
"Nor have they ever bothered whether the laws of the state in this area are applied. A sector that is directly linked to public health and safety, economy, tourism, society, culture, human dignity, etc. They ignore our letters and our protests", she added and noted that stray dogs that are not easy to catch are exterminated with firearms by the Community Authorities, even by the Game Fund, violating a provision of the Animal Protection and Welfare Act.
"Thousands of abuses of dogs who live in miserable conditions, small cages that do not allow them to move, made of metal where in the summer they are baked by the heat and in the winter they get cold. Neglected, without food and water, they die helpless from their cruel and heartless occupants," she said.
Ms. Poyatzi said, at the same time, that the breeding of cats is completely uncontrollable.
"The government sponsorship for sterilization of stray cats given once a year did not help at all. Cyprus was filled with cats that for most residents are undesirable and they poison them," she added.
She noted that poisons are a scourge for all kinds of animals, not just pets. Ass he mentioned, there are hundreds of poisonings every day.
"So many years have passed since the above laws came into force and none of the Presidents, Competent Ministers, Directors of Veterinary Services touched on the issue of animal protection, did not respect the Council of Europe Convention signed by the Republic of Cyprus and committed to implement, nor the laws of our country itself. Crimes, criminal offences against animals are handled by the competent services in an inefficient way", she added.
She said, in addition, that since 2002 there has been a law on extrajudicial regulation of offences against animals which unfortunately this law has also been flouted.
Ms. Pogiatzi said they gave the competent services of the state and the President of the Republic their suggestions for the correct and effective implementation of the laws concerning animals, without financial cost to the state.
Their suggestions, she said, concern the creation of a uniformed body by hiring people on the basis of a contract under the police, with sensitivities towards animals and to be trained in the provisions of the relevant laws and who will be paid on the terms of the Labour Office and will carry out visits to homes, fields, premises, farms, livestock facilities and elsewhere in the provinces where they live, ex officio or following complaints.
"They will be helped by the Local Authority and the Police where they are needed. Members of the body will have the right to issue an extrajudicial fine to those who violate the provisions of the laws (abuse or negligence of animal care, dogs without marking and permission to possess, etc.) at the same time a few days will be given depending on the case for compliance. In no case should they be limited only to advice. Evidence justifying the issuance of an extrajudicial fine will be two photographs. Members of the college will be entitled to 15% of the proceeds of extrajudicial fines. An amount that will be an incentive to work", she added.
They are also suggesting, said Ms. Pogiatzi, the significant increase in the licence to own unneutered dogs, as well as the creation of a special fund from extrajudicial fines where part of the money will be allocated to year-round neutering of cats and care of injured animals.
They believe, she said, that by issuing an extrajudicial fine for each case of violation of the provisions of the laws, just as in all cases of violations of laws, there will be an end to the abuse and abandonment of animals.
"We call on the new President of the Republic of Cyprus to take very seriously the unacceptable and damaging situation for our country and provide immediate and drastic solutions," she noted.
Candidates for the Presidency of the Republic or their representatives were also invited to the conference, as Mrs Blair said. This was attended on behalf of the presidential candidates of Nikos Christodoulides and Andreas Yortsios, and by Alexios Savvidis, who in their interventions at the conference, referred to their positions and their policy for the protection and welfare of animals.
