In Germany (and elsewhere), too, this phenomenon is already an old tradition: as holiday time approaches many an animal owner suddenly realizes that his sweet puppy has grown into an active dog that cannot be left on its own in the apartment for weeks nor can he be taken along on holiday on the sea shore. What better idea than to give the animal back its freedom? For instance, at a motorway service area where the animal is carefully tied to a pole lest it ….. be run over by a car! A very similar pattern of behaviour is responsible for the stray problem in Greece, as Stefan Grothus describes below.

(June 2004, Arche Noah, Crete)

Tradition

Organized mass poisoning has a long standing tradition in Greece. Greek animal protection advocates report that in former times stray animals were just loaded on a caïque and thrown overboard at some distance from the shore. After long hours of swimming the dogs would drown. This was a commonly known method.
Poisoning has only become common since the necessary chemicals are for sale. In cities there are regular poisoning operations the initiators or persons in charge of which never become known. In the large cities nobody admits to organizing those operations but strays regularly die of poisoning. Place and time often coincide in a way that suggests that rubbish collectors are assigned the distribution of the baits but those are speculations that cannot be proven. The systematic and wide spread poisonings in various areas do show, however, that some larger organisation is at work and that the actions are being planned. But nobody on the official side will admit organized poisoning.
Animal protection advocates report that in most villages there are a certain number of people who put out poison on a regular basis. Those are individual actions that allegedly have nothing to do with the mayor or other higher authorities. In the villages putting out poison is openly discussed. It is also common to threaten to put out poison when there are problems with dogs. The property of the individual is more important than the life of the stray who threatens that property. Alternatives like the fencing in of chicken in order to protect them from foxes, martens and dogs, like it is done in other countries, are not even considered. Often, the villagers are lacking the financial means. Poison is cheaper and easier than putting up a fence.
The situation is different in places that get tourism. Here holiday-makers from Athens and other cities dump their dogs that have become expandable. In winter they were bought as cute puppies that until summer have grown into adult dogs that are difficult to keep in an apartment and are too demanding. So the families spend their holidays in their summer home and when departing leave their dog behind believing since the place is beautiful and idyllic the dog will be fine there. They almost see it as an act of liberation of the dog: he can go back to living his natural live in freedom.
Animal protection advocates in Greece know: when strays are no longer seen at places where there always used to be strays then that means they have recently been poisoned.
The decade long tradition of poisoning is in itself the best proof that poisoning does not solve the stray dog problem. Neutering at least helps reducing reproduction. The main problem, though, are people who buy (pedigree) dogs from private breeders or from pet shops that import from Eastern countries and who then go and dump those animals in the street once the become burdensome or sick.
That is the main cause for the masses of strays and is thus a home-made problem. The lack of interest of many people for the needs and way of life of animals leads to romantic fantasies about “life in the wild” and so the conscience of those who dispose of their family dog is clear.
The act of disposal of the dog is being seen as a “release into the wild” and eyes are being averted from the many miserable and hungry stray dogs that, of course, have nothing to do with the “released” dog …