THE NUMBER of dogs neglected by their owners has increased dramatically these past few days as several pet owners go on holiday without ensuring the well-being of their canine companions.
The Cyprus Green Party yesterday issued an announcement regarding dogs being abandoned by their owners who go on holiday and don’t have anywhere to leave them. “The phenomenon has not subsided, on the contrary, these past few years, this practice has started to increase distressingly to a point where municipalities are facing a serious problem with stray animals wandering the streets.” The announcement stresses that when someone owns a dog they are taking on an ethical and legal responsibility.
According to Annie Munday, kennel manager at the PAWS Dog Shelter, this situation has been ongoing for years. “Unfortunately, it’s escalated,” she said. “It’s especially bad with puppies, puppies are just thrown out.” She recalled that a few days ago she witnessed “three men stuffing four dogs into [some containers]” without food or water.
George Perdikis, General Secretary of the Cyprus Green Party, told the Mail yesterday, “it’s a matter of conscience. A correct person, someone with a conscience, someone civilised doesn’t leave his pet hungry and thirsty.”
He observed that in some cases dogs are actually left “imprisoned” in the house, without food or water, while their owners go on holiday.
“The government ought to assist the difficult task undertaken by dog shelters,” Perdikis protested. “Unfortunately, the assistance offered by the government is tragically ridiculous,” something Munday confirmed. Perdikes commented that in other European countries, the government expends considerable efforts to educate and inform the public as well as to provide substantial aid to shelters and animal welfare organisations.
“The government has issued an official request to the municipalities and communities to investigate matters such as these,” explained Pavlos Toumazos, head of the Animal Health and Welfare Division of the Ministry of Agriculture. He commented that it’s essentially the local authorities’ responsibility to ensure that animal welfare is secured.
Toumazos maintained that although there are several people who are truly sensitive towards these issues, there are many people who simply don’t follow the legislation. He observed that this is a global problem and not one that is restricted to Cyprus.
Regarding dogs being neglected at home while their owners are on holiday, Toumazos exclaimed that if anyone was aware of such a case, they could contact his office directly and they would attend to the matter immediately.
“We issue an informative booklet which contains all the responsibilities that come with owning a dog, including the statutory ones,” said Philippos Petsas, head of the Health Service of the Nicosia Municipality. “Of course, you can’t achieve sensitivity in people simply by issuing a booklet,” he confessed. “We have also hosted two open seminars.”
Petsas revealed that the municipality co-operates with a particular independent dog shelter but other than that, as was confirmed by a spokesman for the Health Services, no substantial aid is offered to organisations concerned with rescuing and sheltering dogs.
The PAWS Dog Shelter, along with several other independent animal welfare organisations, suggest that the best course of action is for the authorities to support “some scheme that pushes castrating and spaying.” The high cost of neutering dogs, with prices as high as €90 for large females, discourages many pet owners from doing this.
As Perdikis put it, neglecting your pet while you go off enjoying your vacation, demonstrates a “lack of culture”.
