Athletes enraged over dog killings
KEVIN CONNOR, TORONTO SUN | 02.08.2004 07:17 | Animal Liberation
SOME OF Canada's Olympic athletes are outraged the Canadian Olympic Committee won't take a stand against Athens officials who are poisoning up to 15,000 stray dogs in the city so the country looks pristine during the games.
Athletes enraged over dog killings
SAY COC SHOULD TAKE A STAND
By KEVIN CONNOR, TORONTO SUN
SOME OF Canada's Olympic athletes are outraged the Canadian Olympic Committee won't take a stand against Athens officials who are poisoning up to 15,000 stray dogs in the city so the country looks pristine during the games. "It's horrible, but it has nothing to do with us. We have no official comment," said COC spokesman Stacey Smith.
Since Athens officials are doing this for the Olympics, it has everything to do with the COC, said Olympic runner Leah Pells.
"It makes me sick. The COC is pathetic and they need to take a stand. It's embarrassing to me that they won't do anything," Pells said.
'ILLS OF SOCIETY'
"Sporting organizations can and should influence the ills in society," said Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler Daniel Igali.
Poisoning is a slow, agonizing death, Lynda Elmy of the Toronto Humane Society said.
"We should all stand up and there should be a huge outcry against this because we are sending athletes to the games. It's just appalling," Elmy said.
AESTHETIC REASONS
Athens officials have said the city needs to be dog free for the games for aesthetic reasons, said Dianne Alden of Greek Animal Rescue Canada, which is working with international animal protection groups to stop the slaughter.
"It's deliberate, appalling -- people need to know," she said.
It's not a situation we are proud of, said George Ayfantis, spokesman for the (Greek) Embassy of the Hellenic Republic in Ottawa.
"It's not automatic that 15,000 will be killed. Poisoning dogs is traditional but now illegal. Local officials have extended autonomy and it's done at night. It's considered a minor offence and public prosecutors and police don't want to go after elected officials," he said.
"There are animal lovers around the world expressing their fears. The embassy is doing their utmost for their cause."
SAY COC SHOULD TAKE A STAND
By KEVIN CONNOR, TORONTO SUN
SOME OF Canada's Olympic athletes are outraged the Canadian Olympic Committee won't take a stand against Athens officials who are poisoning up to 15,000 stray dogs in the city so the country looks pristine during the games. "It's horrible, but it has nothing to do with us. We have no official comment," said COC spokesman Stacey Smith.
Since Athens officials are doing this for the Olympics, it has everything to do with the COC, said Olympic runner Leah Pells.
"It makes me sick. The COC is pathetic and they need to take a stand. It's embarrassing to me that they won't do anything," Pells said.
'ILLS OF SOCIETY'
"Sporting organizations can and should influence the ills in society," said Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler Daniel Igali.
Poisoning is a slow, agonizing death, Lynda Elmy of the Toronto Humane Society said.
"We should all stand up and there should be a huge outcry against this because we are sending athletes to the games. It's just appalling," Elmy said.
AESTHETIC REASONS
Athens officials have said the city needs to be dog free for the games for aesthetic reasons, said Dianne Alden of Greek Animal Rescue Canada, which is working with international animal protection groups to stop the slaughter.
"It's deliberate, appalling -- people need to know," she said.
It's not a situation we are proud of, said George Ayfantis, spokesman for the (Greek) Embassy of the Hellenic Republic in Ottawa.
"It's not automatic that 15,000 will be killed. Poisoning dogs is traditional but now illegal. Local officials have extended autonomy and it's done at night. It's considered a minor offence and public prosecutors and police don't want to go after elected officials," he said.
"There are animal lovers around the world expressing their fears. The embassy is doing their utmost for their cause."
KEVIN CONNOR, TORONTO SUN
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
No offense, but.......
02.08.2004 11:26
Look, I'm sorry folks. I might agree with you about dog killing being bad. I might agree that a stray dog probably does prefer to "suffer" on the streets thant to be captured, caged, and after a brief time, killed (relatively painlessly). I might disagree with those who imagine other animals are incapble of that sort of preference (however you feel about other animals being our intellectual inferiors there is little reason to believe that to be true of emotions).
You don't understand that second paragraph? You want to tell me that's not wehat the Greeks are doing, that they are poisoning them on the streets. Yes of course, but I was describing what WE do to stray dogs HERE. I am suggesting that people who feel stray dogs should not be killed need to address what happens in their own socieities before running off to criticise somebody else's.
We PRETEND. We pretend that "shelters" keep captured stray dogs safe. We delude ourselves. And yes, there ARE some "no kill" shelters, but that's where almost no stray dogs end up since those are always filled to capacity. Except for a very lucky few, we kill stray dogs here and are in no position to criticize the Greeks for doing the same.
Mike
e-mail:
stepbystepfarm mtdata.com
how about human murders?
03.08.2004 23:28
2) how about being enraged with human murders ???? have you ever thought that for a change? you don't know what i mean? then take a look here:
ridiculous
22-08-04
22.08.2004 00:23
These sentient beings could have been dealt with by spaying and rehoming to ensure their wellbeing.
This 'prick' who calls him/herself 'ridiculous' (above) whines on about a few human killings ... PATHETIC and SICKENING.
fuckya