On Friday morning, a demonstration took place in front of the district court in Paphos against the possible removal of around 2,000 animals from the Paphiakos animal shelter. Volunteers and citizens took part in the protest and demanded the suspension of the planned closure.

"To see these animals being removed without a clear plan for their welfare or future is devastating," said Irene Diamantopoulou, manager of the Paphiakos shelter, calling on the authorities to stop the removal.

The animals – including pets, horses, goats and rabbits – are at risk of losing their homes and their necessary care. The shelter relies heavily on volunteers who provide food, medical care, and attention with limited resources.

"If we could, we volunteers would take in all the animals," Diamantopoulou told the Cyprus Mail.

She is currently in contact with Environment Commissioner Antonia Theodosiou.

The Animal Party also joined the protest and called on the government and judiciary to suspend the decree against the animal shelter.

"With coordinated efforts, we can find solutions to prevent innocent animals from becoming victims again - animals that are only here because of our own irresponsibility," said party leader Kyriakos Kyriakou.

A meeting is planned for next week between the municipality of Ierokipia, Theodosiou and the Animal Party to work out solutions to prevent the animals from being left without shelter.

Kyriakou recalled that the municipality of Paphos had already announced a tender for the financing of services to take in stray animals in 2015 and had tried to secure land for a new animal shelter – but these initiatives had never been implemented.

"The state is responsible for all matters related to the operation of the shelter," Kyriakou added, appealing to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to help volunteers find a new location for the nearly 2,000 animals.

The shelter has been located on private land near Paphos for almost 40 years. On Monday, the property owners demanded the return of the site in order to use it for other purposes.

"The problem has been known to the responsible authorities for some time," Diamantopoulou said. "But an official solution has not yet been proposed."

Note:
You can listen to the full audio report on the topic on MFRadio.de - Podcast.  







Author: Georgiana Sofroniou
Courtesy of editorial use and redistribution
Source: CyprusMail.com