Mean-spirited Paphos council targeting animal charities

MY HUSBAND and I have just returned from our fourth visit to Paphos.
One of the reasons we return to Cyprus is the wonderful work the Paphiakos Animal Charity, PAWS, the near-by Cat Park and other animal welfare organisations do to rescue and neuter  the numerous  abandoned dogs, stray cats  and other neglected or abused animals in the Paphos area. These charities have made such a difference in creating a civilised island where, unlike other Greek destinations, people are encouraged to treat animals with respect and compassion.
Nothing turns visitors off a place more than to see animals suffering. I would say that the work these charities do is incalculable in encouraging visitors to come and to return to Cyprus as a civilised place to enjoy a holiday. Paphos council should be valuing, not undermining their contribution, particularly in these cash-strapped times. Indeed the council should be proud of what they do.
Yet it would seem that the council is more interested in seeking to prevent these charities from raising money. Pettily pursuing them for trying to raise funds in charity shops and “selling merchandise” whilst it allows greedy foreign investors to avoid paying tax does it no credit whatsoever. Why can’t charity shops co-exist with other shops? They do in the UK. Are these councillors saying that charity shops are somehow illegal in trying to make money for good causes from donated and promotional goods?
Instead of waging this shamefully mean-spirited campaign against the charitable status of Paphiakos whose free neutering scheme is doing so much to promote responsible pet ownership and reduce the number of unwanted kittens and puppies on the island, the council should be ensuring that the foreign speculators who have blighted so much of the island with their unsightly and unfinished property developments not only pay their taxes properly but pay to clear up the mess they have left behind them.

Julia and John Anderson, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, UK

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