Have you heard anything about mass poisonings of dogs in Athens to rid them for Olympic Games?
Aug 9th, 2004, 11:27 AM
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Have you heard anything about mass poisonings of dogs in Athens to rid them for Olympic Games?
I have received a couple of petitions to sign asking the Greek Govt. not to do this. I have also found some news items indicating Athens is going to poison 15,000 stray dogs "for aesthetic reasons". If this is true (and I don't know for sure that it is), I'm surprised there is not more of a public outcry denouncing this appalling practice.
Aug 9th, 2004, 11:47 AM
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A lot of British press have been reporting it..
Taken from The Telegraph in U.K. "Officially, the Greek authorities say that there will be no mass poisoning and the Athens Olympics Committee has asked animal welfare groups to help round up the dogs.
There are however, only one or two shelters in Athens that can take dogs and they are already overcrowded, so the Greeks face a choice of leaving the dogs roaming the streets during the Olympics or poisoning them.
Greece's fledgling animal welfare groups said that the mass slaughter of strays had already begun. Eighty dogs were recently found dead in the coastal resort of Saronida, where some members of the British team are expected to stay"
I know from visiting Athens and the Greek Islands, there are so many homeless dogs roaming the streets..I hadn't thought about this and the fact that it might be an embarassment to the Greek govt. until I received the petitions..
Taken from The Telegraph in U.K. "Officially, the Greek authorities say that there will be no mass poisoning and the Athens Olympics Committee has asked animal welfare groups to help round up the dogs.
There are however, only one or two shelters in Athens that can take dogs and they are already overcrowded, so the Greeks face a choice of leaving the dogs roaming the streets during the Olympics or poisoning them.
Greece's fledgling animal welfare groups said that the mass slaughter of strays had already begun. Eighty dogs were recently found dead in the coastal resort of Saronida, where some members of the British team are expected to stay"
I know from visiting Athens and the Greek Islands, there are so many homeless dogs roaming the streets..I hadn't thought about this and the fact that it might be an embarassment to the Greek govt. until I received the petitions..
Aug 9th, 2004, 12:40 PM
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First the mainstream media decides to take a negative slant on every single aspect leading up to the Games. Now (seeing that this bias was obviously wrong) the urban myth-mongers are peddling bogus petitions, playing on people's animal loving tendancies???
Give me a full total and complete break. Please!
Anyone who's actually been to Greece knows it's feral cats, not dogs, that are omnipresent (& tolerated) -- but, most stupid people are 'dog people.' Hence the fake petition.
Come on, give us a URL from a mainstream UK news org. Show us what you got.
Give me a full total and complete break. Please!
Anyone who's actually been to Greece knows it's feral cats, not dogs, that are omnipresent (& tolerated) -- but, most stupid people are 'dog people.' Hence the fake petition.
Come on, give us a URL from a mainstream UK news org. Show us what you got.
Aug 9th, 2004, 12:45 PM
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Aug 9th, 2004, 12:45 PM
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how's this for mainstream? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5436880/
Aug 9th, 2004, 12:45 PM
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well that's a nice way to clean house. Otherwise who is going to take those homeless dogs, you, me, your neighbor? come on! what's another option? it's pretty sad to hear those types of news, but at the same time you have to be realistic. Some of those animals could have rabies or something else.
Aug 9th, 2004, 12:59 PM
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How interesting. I find most of the "stupid people" are the ones making generalizations of intelligence based on pet ownership. If you stop and think about it, it takes more intelligence to own a dog. We must train a dogs, while a cat trains us.
I agree though, that the OP should provide a link to substantiate this rumor .
I agree though, that the OP should provide a link to substantiate this rumor .
Aug 9th, 2004, 01:12 PM
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Carlos-
The links are above in the posts. I also read about it on the CNN and MSNBC websites.
Rabies, please...get real. I think most people would know a rabid dog from a starving and homeless dog. I guess with the overpopulation of humans maybe we should be as crass and unfeeling and put all the people down who are sick or diseased too.
I know two people who have adopted dogs from Greece and had them shipped back to the U.S.
One dog was found in a tied up bag on the side of the road and the other four were found needy and starving on the streets.
One of the two adopters lived there and the other visits quite frequently. At least five dogs have been saved from a cruel death because someone cared.
Maybe the problem is animals just aren't viewed as something to care about. So you're saying let's just keep taking the easy way out and kill them all. Hmmmm...what other words of wisdom do you have for us?
The links are above in the posts. I also read about it on the CNN and MSNBC websites.
Rabies, please...get real. I think most people would know a rabid dog from a starving and homeless dog. I guess with the overpopulation of humans maybe we should be as crass and unfeeling and put all the people down who are sick or diseased too.
I know two people who have adopted dogs from Greece and had them shipped back to the U.S.
One dog was found in a tied up bag on the side of the road and the other four were found needy and starving on the streets.
One of the two adopters lived there and the other visits quite frequently. At least five dogs have been saved from a cruel death because someone cared.
Maybe the problem is animals just aren't viewed as something to care about. So you're saying let's just keep taking the easy way out and kill them all. Hmmmm...what other words of wisdom do you have for us?
Aug 9th, 2004, 01:19 PM
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I too have heard about this on national news. I am an animal lover who actively donates to many anti-cruelty organizations and agree that this is horrible. However, I'm wondering if many of these dogs may be better off? I have never been to Greece but I have seens many stray dogs (and cats) in southern Italy while on vacation this past March, and many looked horribly sick or were hurt. Two of the strays hanging around the Pompeii train station had broken legs. It truly broke my heart. Many of these dogs are living miserable lives in horrible conditions with no love, and inadequate food and shelter.
If euthanasia is illegal, and the city is overrun with dogs that have nowhere to go, they may not have any other, more humane, options. This seems like a lot of dogs being euthanized, but remember how many pets are euthanized in the United States on a daily basis. The amounts are staggering.
If euthanasia is illegal, and the city is overrun with dogs that have nowhere to go, they may not have any other, more humane, options. This seems like a lot of dogs being euthanized, but remember how many pets are euthanized in the United States on a daily basis. The amounts are staggering.
Aug 9th, 2004, 01:40 PM
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The stray problem was in the news years ago, when Athens was awarded the Games. At that time the gov't promised to use a humane solution, working with animal rights groups to capture and neuter dogs. They also floated the idea of building a temporary shelter outside the city, where they would house dogs for the duration of the Olympics and then return them to the streets.
In typical Greek fashion, it appears that no substantial action was undertaken until too late to effectively deal with the problem. The poisoning has been in the news for a couple of weeks now.
Members of the Canadian Olympic team are upset that Canadian officials have not done more to protest the poisonings.
The Greek people have refused to recognize the importance of spaying and neutering, allowing the problem of strays to become enormous.
The stray problem SHOULD have been enough of an embarrassment to the government. Dealing with the problem in such a barbaric, cruel way should go beyond being an embarrassment.
In typical Greek fashion, it appears that no substantial action was undertaken until too late to effectively deal with the problem. The poisoning has been in the news for a couple of weeks now.
Members of the Canadian Olympic team are upset that Canadian officials have not done more to protest the poisonings.
The Greek people have refused to recognize the importance of spaying and neutering, allowing the problem of strays to become enormous.
The stray problem SHOULD have been enough of an embarrassment to the government. Dealing with the problem in such a barbaric, cruel way should go beyond being an embarrassment.
Aug 9th, 2004, 02:33 PM
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The dogs in Athens were a little bit of a nuisance, but I think added a certain charm to the place. I was chased all the way from the square in Kolonaki to Louis Vuitton, by two large dogs. When I stopped at a corner thinking I'd lost them, they'd reappear! They never jumped up at me, just followed me, even crossing the many roads, thankfully they didn't wait for me outside Louis Vuitton.
