Parliamentary Bill for pets and stray animals to be withdrawn
animal welfare
27 Mar 2018
/ 10:59
Following all the reactions from animal welfare organizations the bill will be re-examined before being brought back for discussion.
According to the Minister for Agricultural Development, Evaggelos Apostolou, the Bill for Pet and Stray Animals has been withdrawn for the time being in order to rexamine issues that have come up. It will be brought back for discussion once it has been restructured and adjustments made.
The Pan-Hellenic Animal Welfare & Environmental Federation had called the Bill shocking and made the following points:
1. It will lead to mass euthanasia, since the safeguard of having animal welfare organizations represented on the 5-member committees for this issue will no longer exist.
2. The contradictory and mutually exclusive provisions of the Bill will lead to the voluntary contribution of the animal welfare organizations disappearing, which will in turn lead to the country being flooded with stray animals. It should also be pointed out that the adoption of young animals up to 6 months old will also be abolished
3. It will essentially abolish the adoption of stray animals by thousands of animal lovers in an EU country.
4. Due to the limit on the number of animals that they will be able to keep in their homes, thousands of Greeks will abandon their pets in order to avoid the crippling fines provided for in this disgraceful Bill.
5. It re-introduces the nightmare of the shameful amendment for abandoning pets in the hills and mountains.
6. Vets are required not to examine sick, injured and poisoned animals, if they do not have any identification.
7. Drowning, poisoning, hanging etc. are not included in the initial definition of illegal killing and have much lesser sentences.
The Pan-Hellenic Animal Welfare & Environmental Federation had called the Bill shocking and made the following points:
1. It will lead to mass euthanasia, since the safeguard of having animal welfare organizations represented on the 5-member committees for this issue will no longer exist.
2. The contradictory and mutually exclusive provisions of the Bill will lead to the voluntary contribution of the animal welfare organizations disappearing, which will in turn lead to the country being flooded with stray animals. It should also be pointed out that the adoption of young animals up to 6 months old will also be abolished
3. It will essentially abolish the adoption of stray animals by thousands of animal lovers in an EU country.
4. Due to the limit on the number of animals that they will be able to keep in their homes, thousands of Greeks will abandon their pets in order to avoid the crippling fines provided for in this disgraceful Bill.
5. It re-introduces the nightmare of the shameful amendment for abandoning pets in the hills and mountains.
6. Vets are required not to examine sick, injured and poisoned animals, if they do not have any identification.
7. Drowning, poisoning, hanging etc. are not included in the initial definition of illegal killing and have much lesser sentences.
