GREECE

A Razor Sharp Reality

"Patriotic or national allegiance when dealing with the suffering of animals should play no role whatsoever in your positive actions for the good of the animals. They sadly live within the borders of inhumanity!" Marijo Anne Gillis

In spite of Greece's seductive focus on alluring images of pristine, sandy beaches, sacred antiquities and expensive, global, fantasy public relations campaigns, brutality exists in the shadows, the back alleys and the local garbage dumps where animals are tossed like putrid trash to die; suffering and alone.

Too many farmed animals are exploited and cast aside like vermin when their years of "production" have come to an end. Most Greek abbatoirs (slaughterhouses) are never examined by authorities for killing with compassion and animals for food are brutally slaughtered. Greek abbatoirs are a vision of hell.

Tormented, living and "dead" illustrations of cruelty and neglect are everywhere! Is it not time to call a spade a spade?

Obviously choosing not to lead by example, Greece has clearly pitched the prestige of her ancient and glorious past to the "dogs".

When we were discussing the situation in Greece, a very urbane, well traveled and intelligent friend in Australia stated: "Greece slips under the radar, but their conduct is every bit as bad as any third world country - Rwanda with Retsina!" ( a Greek national wine ) What a sad analogy!

Thousands of protest letters to Greek government officials from around the world have been ignored. A petition of over 80,000 signatures was scorned by a disinterested government. To put it bluntly, it appears that this European Union member state, until now, has given the compassionate world a collective "third finger" salute.

Greece's gross national product depends upon tourism. Please caution family, friends and associates to avoid vacationing and spending hard earned money in any venue with a proven record of brutality and neglect and the issue of neglect in Greece is horrifying. Turn your compassion and horror into an active, powerful force and a profound influence for change.

Apathy Towards

Strays

The Athens News

The recent poisonings of dogs in Perama

(allegedly authorized by the municipality)

are a moral and social outrage. As the 2004

Athens Olympic Games loom ahead, the

reports of widespread animal abuse and

poisonings in Greece circulate.

The ensuing global concern will gather

momentum - via the Internet and

international media - and in consequence

will wreak havoc on the expectations and

projected financial outcome of the Games.

Yet this tragedy could so easily be avoided if

the Greek government were truly willing to

implement nationwide humane reform.

Instead, however, Greek officials disdainfully

salute the world with their collective middle finger.

To date, the government's response to nationwide incidents of cruelty towards animals appears to be a perpetual state of inertia and bureaucratic indecision. Legal humane proposals sit idle before parliament while the defenceless animals are taking the proverbial bullet for inhumanity.

Tens of thousands of innocent, unprotected, abandoned animals are suffering and dying agonizing deaths by poisoning, hanging and shooting, as well as by starvation and neglect.

While billions of dollars are being spent on preparation for the Olympic Games infrastructure, airport, hotels, a new rail system, hotels and security, not a cent has been spent to alleviate the suffering of sentient beings.

Marijo Anne Gillis/WAG NY

ATHENS NEWS , 30/05/2003, page: A12