 |
|
Cats poisoned in Halkidiki
I recently received an email from Julie, an animal welfare / rescue contact in Halkidiki, regarding the poisoning of cats at a popular resort in Halkidiki.
For the last two years Julie has been sterilising the cats at the Marina in
the Sani Resort, Halikidiki. In total 34 cats had been sterilised, keeping their
population to a level which was tolerated by the hotel managers. Many tourists and Greeks commented on how nice it was to see healthy cats roaming around the marina. |
|
Unfortunately, Julie was recently informed that most of the cats had been poisoned over a period of a few days. Out of all of the cats, only around 6 are still alive. Not all of the bodies have been found (most had been 'removed' to avert suspicion as to who may be responsible). Originally we we are appealing for everybody to write an email to the hotel management to express upset and to ask what measures they will take to ensure the safety of the remaining cats. However, following the success of people sending emails and faxes in protest to the hotel management, I have received a very positive update on the situation from Julie in Halkidiki. Since the first email was sent out, Julie was contacted by Mr Andreas Birner GM and Eleni Andreadis, a member of the board of the company. A meeting was arranged to discuss how they can help towards sterilising the remaining strays in the area and to try and re home some of them. IMPORTANT UPDATE FROM HALKIDIKI! Below is an email I received from Julie following her meeting and we are now asking for everyone to take the time to write to the management to CONGRATULATE them on taking positive steps to HELP stray dogs and cats in their resort. Dear All, Yesterday I was at the meeting with the management of Sani resort. We discussed in detail how to improve the situation for the hotel and for the stray animals. They would like that all strays in the hotel complex are sterilised, vaccinated and records are kept. Security will inform me about any new animals in the area. The management of the resort will allocate funds towards the veterinary expenses. I gave them a plan about a cat cafe which they will discuss and decide if it would help the problem of animals begging for food around the restaurants. Click HERE to find out information about 'Cat Cafes'. They are used by many hotels on Crete, so they will contact these hotels to ask for an opinion. We also talked about informing the tourists via a leaflet about animal welfare. What the tourists should and shouldn't do with the stray cats and dogs while holidaying in the complex (most definitely not take them inside their rooms/apartments, only to put them back on the streets when they go home). The tourists could also be encouraged to help by donating to animal welfare and if they have any problems regarding the animals, they will be advised on who to contact for help. I also gave Mr Mike head of security the animal welfare laws in Greece, to understand who is the responsible body for the strays. In Greece, the mayor is responsible to set up sterilisation programmes for the strays and enforce the law for companion animals. Most of the mayors are ignoring these laws and allowing animal welfare to do their work for them. Maybe a resort like Sani, together with an animal welfare society, could put a little pressure on the mayors to start enforcing these laws. The sterilisation of the animals will start as soon as possible. I am pleased with the outcome of this meeting and believe it is a new start towards showing everyone that changes can be made. I'm very grateful for what we have achieved and thank everybody who took the time to write to the management of Sani resort. I'm asking you please to cross post to your contact this mail, PLEASE STOP EMAIL PROTEST AS THE SITUATION HAS BEEN SOLVED. Thank you Julie PLEASE EMAIL THE MANAGEMENT AND THANK THEM FOR THEIR POSITIVE ACTIONS! The email addresses to write to are: ceo@saniresort.gr abirner@saniresort.gr skalomenidou@saniresort.gr itioupala@saniresort.gr vgounitsioti@saniresort.gr echrysochoou@saniresort.gr info@saniresort.gr The Fax Numbers are: +30 23740 99508 +30 23740 99509 MY 'THANK YOU' LETTER TO SANI RESORT PLEASE show that you too appreciate their positive decisions. However, actions speak louder than words, so the situation will be monitored and I will let you know of any further developments, but I'm 'cautiously' optimistic. 23 January 2009 Dear Mr Birner, I was delighted to hear from Julie Tsiakmakis that the meeting she had with your management was very positive and that several issues were discussed, ensuring that all stray dogs and cats found in your resort will in future be sterilised and vaccinated. Furthermore, that you will provide the tourists with information in regard to the dogs and cats in your resort and contact details of a person they can call should they have any particular concerns of queries regarding the animals. Julie's suggestion of setting up a 'cat cafe' (feeding station for cats) is definitely something I too would recommend. I'm sure that the tourists visiting your resort will appreciate seeing healthy animals who are not begging for scraps at the restaurants. In addition, you could set up a wonderful role model for other holiday resorts, which treat stray dogs and cats as a nuisance and take measures to 'eradicate' them. I'm in regular contact with Julie, who will keep me posted on all the developments. When all the issues discussed at the meeting are implemented, we will certainly recommend your resort to those who are considering a holiday in Greece. Respectfully yours, Vesna Jones (Founder of GAR) 
|