Our Neutering Programme aims to stop the appalling suffering experienced by the majority of stray dogs and cats in Greece due to strays overpopulation. Animal Action Greece/Animal Action Greece (AA) believes that the only effective and humane method of achieving this objective is to spay and neuter these animals in order to prevent even more unwanted animals being born and suffering death by starvation, injury and disease, or inhumane methods of culling. Our Neutering Programme is divided in 3 projects:

The Outreach Project

The Outreach Project consists of a mobile team of four vets (2 vets per mission), an assistant vet as appropriate, and AA’s Neutering Officer. We aim to visit areas that have:

• No neutering program carried out by the Local Authorities – Municipality (LAs),
• Significantly high numbers of stray dogs/cats,
• No local vet present,
• Active local animal welfare groups (AWGs)/volunteers.

When the conditions allow us, it’s always our goal to return to and monitor specific areas closely and measure our long term impact.

Examples of cases our Outreach Project has offered help in the past:

• The shelter in Kalabaka is run by a single person, with minimal support from the Municipality. The shelter hosts approximately 110 dogs. As a result of our Programme’s annual visits, during the last two years we have managed to spay/neuter almost the entire population. As the local shepherds refuse to neuter their dogs, thus intensifying the problem of overpopulation, our aim is to keep on assisting the shelter with controling the population .
• Astypalea, an island overrun by stray cats, is another standard destination of our project. The main reason why Astypalea is in our annual list of destinations is because the island has no local vet and people have to travel to other islands (at least 2 hours away by boat) for veterinary emergencies.

Emergencies and Appeals

Throughout the year we receive many pleas from local animal welfare groups, shelters, organizations and individual volunteers regarding emergency cases of wounded animals or areas where the population of strays is getting out of control.  When possible, we always try to offer our support to: economically deprived areas, areas with high numbers of stray animals, shelters and animal welfare groups with no support from local authorities, as well as very serious animal welfare incidents.  In 2016, 726 cats and dogs were sterilised via our Emergencies and Appeals project.

These are some of the groups we are helping in 2017:

• Aspropyrgos and Mandra are both economically deprived, industrial areas, on the outskirts of Attica overrun by thousands of stray dogs. The local animal welfare group struggles to improve the lives of these homeless dogs however, despite their tremendous efforts, it is extremely difficult for them to cope financially and the stray population keeps rising. The Mandra shelter is run by a single person and hosts 150 dogs, with zero volunteers or financial support. Local authorities provide no support and assume no responsibility for the care of the animals and very often cause legal problems, leaving the shelter helpless. In 2017, we plan to sterilize a total of 60 dogs in both of these areas.
• Despite the fact that Santorini is one of the world’s top tourism destinatiosn, it also has a high number of strays that survive on scraps and depend on the compassion of seasonal visitors. SAWA is the only shelter in Santorini, taking under its wing any animal in need, from stray dogs and cats to retired donkeys and mules. SAWA is another typical example of a private, non governmental initiative, carrying out the animal welfare work the Municipality is responsible for, but is providing zero resources for.

The “Friendship” Programme

Among the many problems brought on by the Greek debt crisis is a surging population of stray dogs and cats. This is why we created a community neutering scheme which allows individuals to have stray cats sterilized at very low cost. It is a project that encourages individuals to take direct action. Animal Action Greece’s collaborating veterinarians have agreed to offer their services voluntarily which helps keep the cost of the programme to a minimum.  This is a pilot programme that for the time being is available only to individuals near Athens.

If you are interested in having a stray cat sterilised through our “Friendship” Programme please follow these steps:

FRIENDSHIP PROGRAM

1. Fill out the form
2. Send the form to Animal Action Greece via email (info@animalactiongreece.gr), fax (+30 210 4828122), or mail (48 D. Falireos str, Piraeus, postcode: 18547)
3. Let us know about the veterinarian you wish to choose from the list with all available veterinarians per region.
4. Proceed with the payment of the amount of sterilization mentioned in the form, to the account details you will find below. Along with your full name, please fill as a justification of deposit the phrase “friendship program”.
5. Once you have completed the above steps and in order facilitate the process, please let us know when you complete the bank deposit. Sending proof of payment to us via email is the fastest and most direct way to speed up the processes.

Upon completion of the above mentioned steps, we will contact the veterinarian of your choice who will schedule an appointment based on your preference and convenience. Last but not least, in addition to the proof of your financial participation, you will receive as well your membership card of the Friendship Program.

Bank Details Action Hellas
Bank: Eurobank EFG
Account name: Action for Animals in Greece
Branch: 0221 Paleo Faliro
Account Number: 0026-0221-31-0101492538
IBAN: GR3302602210000310101492538

Note: When depositing money in a Eurobank branch the amount is not subjected to any additional charges. If you wish to deposit the amount of sterilization through any other bank, please add 3 euro to your total amount of deposit due to the deduction process.

For any additional clarification do not hesitate to contact us on +30 210 3840010