Testament to our society and a shocking mirror of our negligence.
Philenews reporter Angelos Nicolaou today published disturbing scenes from a dog shelter coupled with an depth investigation into the long standing issue of stray animals and our horrific behaviour towards them but also the lack of real determination by the relevant municipal and public authorities to find safe spaces, areas and facilities that will house them, as well as ways of nurturing respect.
According to the Philenews report, more than 350 dogs are being mistreated on a daily basis, with criminal lack of adequate care, most of them badly malnourished and many sick or injured. The situation at this private shelter, operating for the past five years, is well known to authorities but they neither have the will or means to save these dogs from certain death or a life of misery and suffering.
Admittedly, municipal and community spaces for these animals have always been inadequate down to non-existent for the past few years, as Veterinary Services point the finger of blame to the relevant local government officials.
According to the complaint made about the shelter to Phileleftheros, along with photographic evidence also passed on to Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou, there’s no chip recognition on the dogs, they’re not neutered and so births are unchecked, they live in large numbers in small cages, exposed to infectious diseases and gruesome fights with each other, ending up in many deaths.
Conditions are worsening by the day with news of these conditions causing rising concern amongst local organisations and volunteers. One such volunteer will not be silent anymore. Formerly helping at this shelter, she spoke out to Phileleftheros about the dreadful conditions, noting that relevant authorities are turning a blind eye.
‘No one knows the exact number of dogs there, they have never been recorded. The area can host up to 150 dogs, but more than 350 are cramped into small cages’, she says.
The dogs live in groups of 40 to 60, with unwanted pregnancies leading to last minute abortions as many pups are euthanised. What’s more, animal fights cause injuries and deaths, as there is absolutely not the slightest bit of care for them. Most dogs housed here suffer from stress, on many occasions leading to bouts of epilepsy.
The possibility that these dogs will be adopted is next to nothing, as more than half of them have never been out of the facility and have been living without human contact for years. There is no area in the shelter’to house new arrivals or isolated sick dogs. Many suffer from ehrlichiosis, a tick borne bacterial infection and the parasitic disease Leishmaniasis, which go uncared for leading to many deaths.
‘On many occasions, puppies are placed with the adult population, become infected with parvovirus and die’, the volunteer tells Philenews.
An unannounced visit by veterinary services in mid November established that 350 dogs were being housed at this shelter, but strangely, they all had fresh water available, adequate food, they seemed to be in good physical conditions and no sick or injured animals were found.
There was an initial inspection at the shelter in 2019, when it was still under construction and 75 dogs were found, without appropriate facilities and personnel to care for them, which meant violations of relevant legislation. The shelter was verbally reprimanded and a warning was sent in writing on the need to take action and reduce the number of dogs.
The manager of the shelter was supposed to secure a relevant building permit by May 2021 and comply with legislation, but since then no action has been taken on any of these counts and in violation of veterinary services compliance letters. The manager continues to illegally expand the facility with the number of dogs rising.
In May 2022 veterinary services issued a last warning to the owner and during that summer they filed a lawsuit against the shelter on violations of the Animals Protection and Welfare law, which includes conditions in shelters, animal hotels and temporary holding areas.
But there was absolutely no response, coupled with participation by community and municipal authorities to this atrocious illegality, by continuing to take dogs to this shelter, as they were rejected by other local facilities that were closed down for not adhering to regulations.
The new community council where the shelter is situated is demanding its immediate closure and has stopped collecting trash, which will likely lead to the further worsening of conditions for the dogs, trapped in a vicious circle of neglect, negligence and criminal indifference.
