Dear friends,
The Cyprus Green Party received complaints about illegal cat hunting by hunting dogs at the Athalassa’s National Forest Park.
The President of the Party Mr. Perdikes sent a letter dated December 23rd, 2015 towards the Director of the Forest Department for increasing patrols, especially to the area of Saint George’s lake, were dead cats were found. Any dog owner who doesn’t apply to the law responsibly, must be punished.
The Director of the Forest Department responded with a letter on January 19th, 2016 that the Department is unable to effectively adjust the handling of dogs inside National Forest Parks due to the outstanding court decision which is before the Supreme Court. Therefore, he continued, the management rules that adjust dogs’ handling cannot be applied.
The above answer is not satisfactory and we consider it irrelevant to the issue raised by the Cyprus Greens. What is the reason for waiting on the Supreme Court’s decision about dog presence in parks? In cases when someone abandons his animal or in case, there is a stray animal, the forest workers must intervene. Is the Forest Department’s reaction to our complaint a sort of revenge because we have modified their regulations and now they are saying that they will do nothing? We do not accept this answer.
