Local authorities must take the blame for dog situation

Sir,

We would like to comment on your article ‘No break for dogs as Cyprus heads for holidays’ by Marcos Charalambides.

Dog abandonment and neglect is an everyday occurrence for decades now, resulting in the euthanisation of thousands of healthy but unwanted dogs. It gets worse during the holidays and it will go on for ever unless stricter measures are adopted by the local authorities and the Interior Ministry, who choose to turn a blind eye to what is really happening. The lack of culture among a substantial number of Cypriots is a contributing factor to this phenomenon.

The Dog Law came into force since 2004 to promote responsible dog ownership and control the dog population. If the local authorities had begun implementing its provisions since then, unscrupulous citizens would think twice before abandoning their animal or even before acquiring an animal. The law stipulates that all dogs must be micro-chipped and have a health book Micro-chipping enables all parties collecting abandoned dogs (animal welfare societies, municipality pounds, private vets and citizens), to find the dog owner through the Central Government Registry. Also the owner of a female dog, ought to declare to the competent authority the number of pups born every time the bitch gives birth, and to give the names and the addresses of the persons to whom he has given the puppies, as well as the date on which were given!

Local authorities are empowered to impose fees and penalties. Since 2004, little has been towards its enforcement, therefore municipalities and local authorities are not entitled to complain, for they are blame that we are still in limbo.

The few animal shelters on the island are burdened both with the huge task of collecting abandoned, sick and injured animals and the financial implications involved in carrying out this duty. They do their best, but everybody must realize that it is impossible to re-home the thousands that pass through the shelters every year. Local authorities must distribute the informative booklet mentioned, so that each and everyone is aware before acquiring a dog. It seems that very few people have it.

Mary Chrysochou-Anastasi

Cyprus Voice for Animals

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.