Since last week, it seems that dead kittens have been found constantly, and the fate of 20 more cats that were being fed by animal lovers in the village of Maroni is unknown. A dog and hedgehogs were also found dead, the Environmental Citizens Cooperation Movement says in a statement.
According to the statement, “The horrific incident was reported to the local police station on Saturday by sensitive citizens. According to the citizens, the police did not apply the procedures regarding the investigation of the complaint about killing - poisoning of animals.
All animals found in the area were supposed to be handed over for necropsy but the police collected and took only the dog for necropsy with the excuse that the other animals were strays which is completely unacceptable.
Animal welfare legislation covers all animals, not just those that have an owner. The police were prompted to call the community authority to collect the kittens. Also, the citizens consider that the whole case was trivialized and a written complaint was not allowed. Of great concern is the possibility that if it is indeed a case of poisoning then there is someone in the community who is in possession of an illegal dangerous substance and may use it again something that the police should have worried about at the same time and identified the culprit.
It is noted that the citizens had initially contacted the mobile phone of the Animal Police of the Province of Larnaca with no response. We bring up again the issue of the animal police and their inability to respond effectively to society's demand to protect animals and punish those who abuse animals as they are understaffed or their members are often busy with other duties.
We ask for the creation of an independent body with its own staff, equipment, to be well versed in the legislation and to demonstrate the required zeal in clarifying cases, as well as referring the guilty to Justice.
These unacceptable criminal behaviors towards animals are no longer going to be tolerated by society. We ask for an investigation into the incident and an effort to find the culprit. We also ask the Police Leadership to investigate the way the case was handled by the police.
The coordinator of the movement's animal action group, Ms. Anthi Mouzouri, emphasized "we live in 2024 and unfortunately there are daily crimes against animals. When will we finally respect animals? When will there be zeal from the Competent Authorities to implement the legislation and procedures to punish the guilty????
Unfortunately, in the Cyprus of 2024, there is a lot of work that needs to be done to be called a civilized people".
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