Hunting dogs that have grown old and no longer “perform” – according to their owners, younger hunting dogs that are not feeling well and others that have fallen ill are abandoned by hunters in the Greek mountains and left to fend for themselves. This is exactly what animal welfare organizations are complaining about, which in recent days have put the issue on the agenda of public discussion.

A more recent announcement from the “Panhellenic Federation of the Environment, Animals, Hunting – Nemesis”. The statement released by the organization says one a daily occurrence throughout the Greek region. Speaking to K, Natassa Bombolaki, lawyer and president of the Nemesis organization, notes that “although almost all hunting dogs have an electronic tag (the so-called chip), in many cases the name of their owner is not registered in the electronic database. This is because owners don’t want to be identified with their abandoned dogs.”

The problem is also indicated by “Cultural and Philanthropic Association of Tripoli“, which speaks of the situation in Arcadia, “out of control.” As the president of the club tells K, George Zafirakis: “These days we found two more wolf dogs that were abandoned in Xiropigado-Kynourias. One is even old. Also ten days earlier, two foreign tourists found two abandoned hounds in the Mainalo ski resort. He was in very bad shape because of the cold.”

Like Ms. Bombolaki, Mr. Zafeirakis points out that many of the dogs discovered by the association do not have a special chip. “We are currently accepting 50 hounds in our club’s temporary shelter. This is a big problem in the region,” he notes.

Both representatives of the animal protection associations note that the problem is exacerbated by the fact that several and often in poor condition nurseries operate in the Greek region.

60,000 to 70,000 dogs in rural areas out of control

The zoologist also told K about the many and important problems posed by stray and abandoned wild dogs, as well as hounds that hunt in large groups. Theodoros Kominos .

For the past twelve years, the AUTH Zoology Doctor has been observing, through a network of cameras he has placed in 2,000 locations across the country, the animals that circulate in the Greek countryside, from northern Greece to Crete.