Filenews 8 March 2024
A storm of reactions from animal welfare organizations caused a proposal to amend the provision of the Law on the feeding of stray cats submitted by Green MP Charalambos Theopemptou.
According to the Federation of Animal Welfare Organizations of Cyprus, if Mr. Theopemptos' goal is to facilitate the feeding of strays and the volunteers who take care of them, this proposal will lead to the opposite results and will go back many years. As they argue, "it introduces bureaucratic procedures such as requiring written permission from the owner of the place where the feeding of strays takes place, while the simple consent given verbally or simply with the tolerance of the owner who knows about feeding and does not forbid it should suffice."
Even worse, he notes, volunteers who feed strays in a field will have to go to the Land Registry to find out who the owner or owners are (there may be dozens) to ask them for permission. Many of the people who care for strays are elderly and do not have the ability to implement these provisions.
Also, they add, the provision to inform the local authority about the creation of a feeding area puts through the back door the issue of the issuance of a permit by the local authority for feeding stray cats and leaves volunteers and animals exposed at the disposal of any competent officer of the Municipality who may not want the animals.
Furthermore, the provisions that provide for the placement of signs in feeding areas and the posting by the local authority on its website, the locations of all feeding places, serve no purpose other than to inform the unscrupulous about where there are suitable places where kittens can be cared for and where unwanted kittens can be abandoned.
The Federation of Animal Welfare Organizations calls on Mr. Theopemptou to withdraw his proposal. At the same time, it calls on Parliament's Committee on the Environment and the parties to reject this proposal. Otherwise, animal welfare organizations and the thousands of volunteers who care for strays warn that they will react strongly.
