An impressive number of Municipalities, of Animal Welfare Organizations and the public that participated in the 1st Conference of Municipalities and Animal Welfare Associations which was held on May 6th, 2017 at the Titania Hotel.
70 representatives of Municipalities were present, Mayors, Deputy Mayors or other important officials from the municipal authorities, who arrived in Athens from all over the country in order to attend the Conference.
Animal Welfare Associations from all over the country have also maintained their dynamic presence, reaching the 58 Associations, while the participation of the common people was also impressive.
Representatives of the state authorities, the Hellenic Police, who have always supported the efforts of the animal community, former Ministers, General Secretaries of Ministries, Ministers’ Councils, Deputy Regional Chiefs, representatives of the Regions, MEPs, MPs, representatives from political parties, they were all there.
The subject of the Conference «For a Greece without strays/We outline and demand national policy and planning for the animals” which was first debated instead of the fragmentary up to now, casual and ineffective proposals, pleasures and “solutions” was what attracted the interest All of the above, as well as the social, multicultural, economic and ethical dimension that has taken the issue of strays in our country.
Excellent were the speeches of the Mayors and Deputy Mayors who referred to hot topics such as the Municipal Veterinary Clinics instead of the shameful kennels, the legal and moral management of the stray animals by the Municipalities, the necessity of harmonious cooperation between the Municipalities and the volunteer citizens who give the excess of their time, their soul and their poor income for the protection of animals, the necessity for the State to financially assist the efforts of the Municipalities.
The speakers Prosecutors, great people and scientists in their own critical and sensitized way, identified in their pivotal speeches that the implementation of animal law should prevail in the actions of the Municipalities, while the speakers who came from Europe referred to their experiences from their countries and what is legal and how people are treaing the animals there.
The approach of our expert scientist speaker to the definition of the aggressive animal was extremely enlightening while the trailer of the short film “Roxy” and the Federation’s tv spot for the miserable reality of the municipal kennels gave the visual aspect of the life of the strays, a life that they strays did not choose rather than the humans choose it fore them.
At this point, we would like to apologize to those speakers that the lack of time, which turned out to be too small for such a serious matter, did not allow them to speak of their thoughts and concerns.
But the most important element of the Conference, where its great success and contribution lies, was the joint resolution that will soon emerge in the air, including radical and life-saving solutions for a zero-strays country.
We can not go on without making a special mention to the President of Central Union of Municipalities & Communities of Greece (K.E.D.E.), not for diplomacy, but because we were pleasantly surprised by his views on the hot issues concerning the issue of stray animals which are almost identical to the positions of Animal Welfare movement. We specially thank him.
The resolution will be handed over to the Prime Minister of the country, the Speaker of the House and the parliamentary parties, while it is the first time that an Organization, such as KEDE, with its prestige and special gravity endorses together with the animal welfare community a resolution to the state institutions, and that is reason why the Conference was innovative, unique