Paphos, Cyprus. The Ecologists movement on Wednesday voiced strong opposition to proposals to kill stray dogs in the Paphos forest that were discussed at a meeting between government services and the forestry department on Monday. The movement said killing stray dogs was not an acceptable solution and called for alternative measures.
Opposition to killing stray dogs
The party’s animal action group coordinator, Anthi Mouzouri, said that “a modern society cannot accept the killing of defenceless animals as a solution”.
Call for alternative measures
The movement said the protection of local wild animals and wildlife was everyone’s obligation, but stressed that exterminating the dogs, which it described as victims of abandonment, could not be the answer.
It added that killing the dogs would shift responsibility from those who abandon animals to the animals themselves, instead of addressing the cause of the problem.
Proposed actions
Instead of killing the animals, the Ecologists proposed collecting the dogs through specialised personnel, strengthening neutering programmes, transferring the animals to appropriate shelters and imposing strict consequences on owners who abandon their animals.
