Green party calls on pet owners not to abandon their animals over the holidays

The Green Party on Friday said the number of pets being abandoned as people go on holidays had increased dramatically.

The party called on the public to ensure their pets were in safe hands, or in special pet hotels that meet the requirements of quality animal welfare if they are unable to take them with them.

“In the summer months the percentage of abandoned animals is showing a dramatic increase, unfortunately,” a party spokesperson told CNA. They said it was illegal to lock pets in houses or tie them up on balconies or rooftops. The law provides for prosecution in such instances, it said but added that criminal prosecution was not enough and that a change in mentality was called for.

There needed to be a realisation that pets were not some kind of seasonal gift that could be abandoned after the initial excitement wore off.

The party called on all relevant state departments to take the matter seriously, to better inform the public and to implement the existing legislation. “The phenomenon of pet abandonment must stop. It does not honour us as citizens,” it added.

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.