Greece and animals/pets laws, abuse, etc.....?

Question

I am a little bit shocked to hear that PETA has drawn up a petition for Greece to enforce pet welfare in Greece. I've always saw Greece as a very peaceful loving country to all forms of life 4 legs and 2. Since I am moving there and I animals are HUGE in my life can someone please inform me of this situation. Are the claims of PETA true?

What are pet laws there? Restrictions, fines, leash laws, so on so fourth.

Answer 1

Could you please give the link?

Edit: There are lows of course against animal cruelty...but some people in villages see animals more like tools....I have signed the petition because I want the lows to be more strict! I just wanted to add 2 things:1) There are cruel people all around the world sadly and 2) In Greece stray dogs and cats are not killed by the government , they get neutralized, cleaned and re-released something that doesn't happen in other countries..

EDIT:Yes of course there are breed restrictions as for the quality of life of the animal , how many times it will give birth a female and so on but I am not familiar with details , sorry...

Answer 2

Yes, this is another thing that should be attended to. I would like to see better laws on this subject myself.

Answer 3

Greek laws about animals - or anything else for that matter - are good. The problem is that they are not enforced.

Regarding pets, the law is that they must not be abused, they must not be abandoned, they must be microchipped (dogs), they must be vaccinated, and you are allowed to have 2 in an apartment.

Whoever does something against animals can be sued and not only pay a fine, if proven guilty, but also a prison sentence. The problem is that people who abuse animals or poison them or abandon them do it in hiding.

In addition, I must tell you that there are MANY animal loving people in Greece, and many animal welfare organisations. There are also many people who are not active in rescuing animals, but don't bother them. It only takes one awful person who kills them or abandons them etc. to give the rest a bad name.

As for stray animals, they are supposedly a big issue in terms of animal neglect. Sure, it is wrong to abandon pets and let them be stray. But the law forbids to kill stray dogs and cats, and town authorities vaccinate them, neuter them, and they release them where they were found. I assure you there are many people who feed them (stray cats and dogs in Athens are huge!), take them to vets, and it is better that pretend there is no problem by putting them in a "shelter" where they are killed after a few days. Because here on Yahoo I have realised this is what happens in other countries where there are no "poor strays". I would prefer to be homeless, with care,  than face the death penalty, wouldn't you?