Animal Party hits out over mass cat poisoning

[WHL]

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.

You said many of the people do it for neutering reasons, the many people I see all over the place do it because they feel sorry for them...one old lady near us, just goes and dumps the food on the ground near some communal dustbins, Im sure that she also attracts vermin...but what this well meaning lady and many others like her are doing is increasing the problem..I know the Government have some money for trapping and neutering cats, but they cant do anything worthwhile while people keep feeding ferels.

[JnT]

UNCLE D!
You are condemning all people who try to help animals,myself included, you have not made any mention about those sick low life scum who set out to inflict pain and suffering on animals WHY! do you condone what they do by any chance.
The Tala Cat Park is in no way a prison,it is probably one of the best places that any cat can be safe and well looked after by people who care a great deal,unless it gets broken into by more low life scum,as has been a number of times.
It is my belief that most Cypriot people or any other nationality will not do anything to hurt animals, the down side is that they do not do much to help the animals either, by this i mean getting animals Spayed/neutered for what ever reason cost being the main reason no doubt.
There is animal cruelty all over this world,and in some parts of the world there is help to be found and action taken against those who commit the acts of cruelty in the in the UK it is the RSPCA.
BUT we are not in the UK or anywhere else in the world,we are here in CYPRUS and the battle against animal cruelty in Cyprus must be fought here.
The biggest problem we have in fighting the animal cruelty and all the low life scum who commit the acts is the Spineless government who at best talk cheap with no action,a police force who dont give a toss,and the government vet dept who do not care to much either.
ALL people who try to do their very best to help all animals do it because they CARE,and in Cyprus this is done by many people of different nationality’s and there are lots of Cypriots out there doing what they can with the rest of us.
It is not right to condemn all animal cruelty that goes on here in Cyprus to the Cypriot people, there are and have been many acts of Cruelty carried out by good old ENGLISH ex pats who blend in with all around them and you would not think butter would melt in their mouths ( have found this out first hand).
To me the problem is not with the animals, but the so called human race .
I am not of the PC/GB/DG brigade and normally say it as i see it,but have kept this little comment to low key as best i can.
IF you dont like animals thats fine,but DONT hurt them,or condone those that do.
AND NEVER CONDEMN THOSE THAT DO CARE.
John. ,

[PW in Polemi]

I remember many years ago we holidayed in one particular Greek island - there were many feral cats, scrounging for food at the taverna tables and getting underfoot. Yes, as cat lovers, we felt sorry for them but we did not feed them because we knew that cats can and will feed themselves, and nature will balance out the numbers - survival of the fittest, nature's number one rule. Besides, if the cat becomes dependent on food handouts from tourists, what happens when the tourist goes home? It's lost the will to hunt for itself and makes a nuisance of itself, equating humans with food handouts.

We enjoyed our holiday in that island so much, we returned the following summer. What a change. No cats to be seen anywhere. Instead, green lidded wheely bins at every street corner. Why? Somebody (some authority?) had poisoned all the cats so the rat population exploded. Previously, householders had hung their plastic bags of rubbish on their garden railings for the daily rubbish collection. With the increase in rat population, these bags were being ripped open and the contents strewn everywhere. Hence the green wheely bins.

I feel that if you want to help a stray cat, adopt it and give it a forever loving home. Don't feed dozens of ferals - as soon as the female cat has a decent food intake, she can (and will) breed, generating more and more feral cats. Let the ferals feed themselves and their population will decrease naturally. Keep feeding the feral cats, and their population will increase exponentially. And yes, I know of the "catch, neuter, release" programmes, but unless you can catch and spay EACH AND EVERY female feral cat and do more than just encourage householders to have their female cats spayed, the feral cat population will continue to increase.

The vast majority of people don't mind the odd cat or two wandering around, but when you get large groups with the noisy males competing for the attention of the females, then sometimes it's just a caterwaul too much. I don't condone poisoning (or any animal cruelty, whether by commission or omission) but I can understand that sometimes people just reach breaking point and react badly.