| Friends
of the Cats On 30th December members of the Greek charity Friends of the Cat went, as they have done every day for the last ten years, to feed the cats in Zappion, a park in the very centre of Athens. But instead of finding the usual happy, healthy animals waiting none too patiently to be fed we found dead bodies - the animals we had loved, cared for, vaccinated and sterilized had been brutally poisoned. Over days of 30th and 31st December, just days before Greece took over the EU presidency which is hosted in Zappion, a total of 18 dogs and around 40 cats were killed. These animals will have died agonising deaths. All the dogs had been sterilized by local animal lovers and charities. Every cat had been sterilized and vaccinated by the Charity Friends of the Cat. We know each cat in the area individually as we feed them daily and provide a very high level of care for them. These animals were, for many, many Athenians and tourists, an integral part of the gardens' charm. The animal's bodies were taken to vets who certified that the animals had been poisoned. The poison was also found and taken for analysis. On the
bright side, we managed to save one of the cats which had been poisoned.
When searching for more bodies, a volunteers found 'Samba the Survivor', a
beautiful, friendly calico, writhing in agony in the bushes. With expert
veterinary help this tough little cat managed to pull through and is now
fine. However, there are still many other dogs and cats in danger in
Athenian streets and parks and we have to do all we can to prevent this
happening again. On Sunday 12 January all the Athenian animal welfare organisations participated in a protest march. The event had been very well publicised on radio, television and in the press and thousands of Athenians came out to make their feelings know. This shows that there are very many Greek animal lovers who have had enough and are willing to fight the poisoners, whoever they may be. Friends
of the Cats |