Animal Party hits out over mass cat poisoning

[Paphos Life]

The Animal Party has called once more on state authorities to be vigilant following the mass poisoning of cats on New Year's Day in Limassol....

Read the article and chat about it below...

[JnT]

Hope that what ever low life scum did this dies the same way,or better still lives and a member of their family dies this way so that they might understand what a shit death this is.

[Dominic]

Oh change the bloody record Hudswell. It is getting very tiresome.

HiC, that killer hasn't just targetted Croydon. I used to live in Surrey Heath, and there were numerous reports from there too. Now, every time a cat goes missing, people fear the worst.

[Paulo]

I have to point out that the difference between the Croydon cat poisoner is that the general public in the UK condemn this overwhelmingly, in Cyprus the Cypriot population are at least indifferent about these type of atrocities if not supportive. I know some of you will say that you know several Cypriots who love there pets and other animals, but this is not good enough, as a society in general they either condone or ignore these actions and it's a part of Cyprus that I really struggle with.

Hudswell - as much as I agree with some of your comments it is starting to seem like you're just waiting to jump into every discussion with the same argument, it's becoming as predictable and boring as the argument put forward by the "if you don't like it don't live here' brigade.

[Paulo]

I'm sorry HIC but you are delusional if you believe that 99% of the Cypriot population are animal lovers, you've been here long enough to see the state of animal welfare in this country. The lack of any serious government institutions to combat animal cruelty shows how important it is to the general public, if it wasn't for the expat community the few charities that do try and offer some sort of service wouldn't be able to survive.
From bird trapping, the treatment of hunting dogs, the poisoning of cats, the dogs tied in one place for their entire life - these are not few and far between cases, these are widespread actions that are carried out on almost every area of the island on a massive scale.
The local population and the government accept this and chose to turn a blind eye, this is institutional animal cruelty.

To keep comparing the situation to other countries such as Thailand is a poor defence, nobody is saying that Cyprus is the worst offender in the world but they are certainly well below what should be expected from a modern civilised country.

[kingfisher]

Lloyd, it was you who deflected the thread yesterday @ 6.09 pm, when you raised the irrelevent issue of the UK and its animal welfare record, which is still a good one by all international standards.
Why do you then inconsistently post later that it is pointless to compare animal cruelty in one country with another?
Hudswell made a good point, and Paulo put it very well; as an animal lover myself, who has rescued numerous animals from dire- sometimes terminal abuse- here in Cyprus over nearly thirteen years, I say the situation here is utterly disgraceful.

[jeba]

While it may or may not be true that on average Cypriots are not as concerned about animal welfare as they should be at least they don´t have factory farming here. All those animal lovers who buy their meat from places like Lidl are conveniently forgetting about the suffering of animals which is the background against which meat prices of € 3/kg or milk prices of 55 cent/litre (UHT milk from Germany) are possible. Did you know e. g. that pigs are anesthesized in those factory slaughterhouses by immersing them into carbondioxide (50 at a time), the exact same substance which causes dyspnoea because it´s the cheaper gas (helium would achive the same but without stress for the animals but it´s more expensive)? Whoever buys factory farmed meat lost the right to call themselves animal lovers!

[Dominic]

I made a similar point about UK factory farms a few months back.

[kingfisher]

Jeba- the best solution to the points you raise is stop eating meat, which I did several years ago; actually it was after reading an EU report about slaughter "houses" here in Cyprus, which the inspectors branded as the "worst in Europe" after VISITING them.
However, I will leave you people to discuss the UK, which is NOT what this thread is about.

[Poppy]

I well remember the killing of a pig in Tala,in fact I will never forget it. It was a small holding just below the houses across the road from me,one of which I looked after for friends.I heard this terrible screaming and rushed out to the balcony to see about 5 men manhandling this very large pig.The pig was absolutely terrified,resisting the men and screaming terribly.They then attempted to cut it's throat but did not manage it at which point I could no longer watch but the pig carried on screaming for a good while after.It was absolutely horrendous and although this happened maybe 8 years ago it will stay in my memory for ever. I know this is illegal in Cyprus but it happens and yes of course it probably happens in many other countries but that does not excuse it.
Re cruelty to dogs,in Cyprus it is endemic as anyone must surely see.You will never stop hunting in Cyprus because it is what they do but they spend thousands of euros to buy a dog,do not vaccinate it,worm it,provide any sort of medicine or treatment for it,then attempt to train it,by fearand if it does not perform just kick it out.This is fact,ask any of the shelters or vets

[Dominic]

The treatment of a lot of hunting dogs here is indeed appalling. Some appear to spend the majority of the year locked up in small cages.

Hunting does appear to be on the decrease though. There is certainly less around than last year. I can't remember where I read it, might have been here even, but one reason for the decline is that younger women are not as ready to clean and cook the kill as their older counterparts were. If this is the case, then three cheers for women's lib.

[WHL]

Reading the posts on here, just shows up how ignorant some on here are, theres those who just troll the forum just to find something, so they can post their anti anything Cypriot bile, theres others who accuse a whole population of being anti animal, then theres those with a genuine concern about animal cruelty yes theres animal cruelty in Cyprus just as there is back in the UK and everyplace on the planet, I live in a Cypriot neighborhood, and out of the say twenty homes in our road we are the only Brits, I would guess out of those twenty houses at least a third of them have pets, I see them being walked every day and often talk to the people with their dogs out side my house, these people give me up dates about their dogs, just taken him/her to the vets, etc etc.all these people love their pets as much as me or you, but because they are Cypriot that cant be so? people stop generalizing theres evil people out there of every nationality....going back to the poisoning of cats, every right thinking person should condemn such actions... but also shouldn't people stop feeding feral cats, their kindness just makes the problem worse in my opinion.

[exodus]

The treatment of a lot of hunting dogs here is indeed appalling. Some appear to spend the majority of the year locked up in small cages.

Hunting does appear to be on the decrease though. There is certainly less around than last year. I can't remember where I read it, might have been here even, but one reason for the decline is that younger women are not as ready to clean and cook the kill as their older counterparts were. If this is the case, then three cheers for women's lib.

If so then that is indeed good news.
However I feel some people are over-sensitive towards animal wellbeing.
You have to distinguish between "pets" and "hunting meat".
Nobody of sane mind wants any animal to suffer, but regards hunting we have to eat!
I see no difference between killing a cow for food and a bird for food.
Standing by for the usual bric-bats from the PC brigade,
Amos.

[Dominic]

Um, you clearly have no understanding as to what constitutes political correctness. The brigade you should fear is the animal rights brigade.

[Dominic]

Reading the posts on here, just shows up how ignorant some on here are, theres those who just troll the forum just to find something, so they can post their anti anything Cypriot bile, theres others who accuse a whole population of being anti animal, then theres those with a genuine concern about animal cruelty yes theres animal cruelty in Cyprus just as there is back in the UK and everyplace on the planet, I live in a Cypriot neighborhood, and out of the say twenty homes in our road we are the only Brits, I would guess out of those twenty houses at least a third of them have pets, I see them being walked every day and often talk to the people with their dogs out side my house, these people give me up dates about their dogs, just taken him/her to the vets, etc etc.all these people love their pets as much as me or you, but because they are Cypriot that cant be so? people stop generalizing theres evil people out there of every nationality....going back to the poisoning of cats, every right thinking person should condemn such actions... but also shouldn't people stop feeding feral cats, their kindness just makes the problem worse in my opinion.

I certainly agree with you about feeding feral cats. There are even UK "charities" that organise it. I don't see any charities for feeding feral rats though, obviously because they aren't cute enough.

[Poppy]

I think you will find that many of the people feeding these feral cats do so to enable them to trap them for neutering ufortunately it is a never ending cycle.Many of the elderly residents want cats to help keep vermin and snakes down but take no responsibility for their welfare,their cats have kittens on a regular basis and then just contribute to the feral population.

[Uncle D]

Cats can look after themselves, there is plenty for them to eat in the natural environment without the ladies who spend a fortune on feeding them. All they do is create more breeding, hence too many cats.
The cat park (AlCATraz) is just a cat prison.

[WHL]

I think you will find that many of the people feeding these feral cats do so to enable them to trap them for neutering ufortunately it is a never ending cycle.Many of the elderly residents want cats to help keep vermin and snakes down but take no responsibility for their welfare,their cats have kittens on a regular basis and then just contribute to the feral population.

I think you will find that most of the people feeding these cats do it because they feel sorry for them, and not because of neutering.....they are increasing the problem not helping it....

[Poppy]

Well certainly in Peyia and Paphos they were capturing and neutering them in an attempt to reduce the numbers. I believe that there is still a Government funded neutering programme. They were also working with some Hotels to control the cat population and also checking them for health issues. You may like to speak to PARC if you don't believe me. They operate just in Peyia and Coral Bay and managed to get 300 cats neutered last year and many more to receive veterinerary treatment so OK 300 being neutered is just a drop in the ocean but better than nothing. They would not be able to trap these cats without feeding them to gain their trust.

[Uncle D]

I believe you, feeding them and neutering them costs money, not feeding them is the cheapest option and cats then will get their own territories and that will determine their population. There will less bellyaching about dead cats ran over etc and it will better for all.
Oh and quieter nights during mating season etc, I have 4 lady neighbours who feed cats, too many.