As it has been reported in the article "Report Animal Abuse in Greece through an email" i let you know how to report animal abuse cases through an email where the animals are not in a great danger and these cases have to do with mild neglect. Every time you have to have in mind if the danger is direct and if the animal will probably experience serious physical harm or/and die soon. Also, have in mind that the email procedure will take several days in order for the Police to intervene.
Let's explain some things...
Active abuse is hitting, kicking, poisoning, shooting, stabbing, crushing, choking, torturing, hanging, burning, having sex with an animal, using hands or an object against it. All these acts have to do with the phenomenon animal cruelty.
Passive abuse is when animals are constantly exposed το extreme weather conditions (e.g. rain, heat, hail, snow, etc), live in balconies, flat roofs, yards, fields, are constantly in chains, eat/drink filthy/improper or no food/water, when there is lack of accommodation/house or not suitable for the animal (very small, narrow, short, metallic, etc), the owners don’t take them for veterinarian care, de-worming and vaccination, for everyday walks and for appropriate exercise.
There are also other forms of abuse, such as abandoning (leaving it alone & stray) and illegal animal trading.
All these behaviors are offenses and are punished according to the Greek Law 4830/2021 as misdemeanors or as felonies. Greece is one of the few countries on Earth that causing death to, torturing, having sex or abandoning newborn puppies is being punished as a felony.
So, in cases of active and passive abuse, where you see someone abusing an animal, etc or an animal is severely neglected, you have to:
- Call immediately the "100" of Police Emergency ("Amesi Drasi" in Greek) wherever you are in Greece, giving your name and the exact address where the incident happened and wait for a police car to come. If they won’t come in half an hour, call again· do not hesitate. The call to the "100" has to be done either way. If you don't have a Greek number, try "+30100" or "112" and tell them to connect you to the "Amesi Drasi".
- Take several pics of the animal’s conditions and the incident. Try so as they won’t be distant and blurred.
- Then, you have to show the police officers the abuse conditions and they will write it down. The police crew that will arrive is only responsible for arresting the abuser and write down what they saw and what you told, but not in detail. You cannot press any charges there.
- After that, you have to go right away to the local Police Station/Department and give a testimony with someone, lawyer or any other Greek citizen, who can translate from English or other language. Don't let enough hours to pass before you go and testify. You give time to the abuser to hide evidence of their actions.
- In your testimony you will express everything that you know, saw and it is pivotal to propose the names of other eyewitnesses too. If you don’t know the abuser, describe them physically. Give also the pics you have taken.
- It is necessary to remind the police officers and tell them to write it down in your testimony that you ask they will contact the District Attorney and have the animal been removed from the abuser/owner, according to the Greek Law 4830/2021 article 33. Don’t rest assured that they will do it either way· no!
- After your testimony, ask for a protocol number of the case. Usually, the protocol is something like, e.g. 1009/6/1-a.
- In the meantime, try to search on Facebook or Google if there is an animal organization in the area the incident happened and inform them. They can testify too in order to stand up for the case in court.
You need to know that if any police officer ever tries to tell you that they can’t do anything or/and you don’t need to press any charges due to any reason, don’t leave the premises of the Police Station/Department. This is an offense and is called "Neglect/Breach of Duty". Call the Internal Affairs Department (0030) 2108779700 (internalaffairs@hellenicpolice.gr) and report it.
For every help, please, feel free to contact me through my Facebook page by sending message here: https://www.facebook.com/reportanimalabusegreece/
For Report Animal Abuse Greece,
Drivas Evangelos
Police Officer
Clinical Psychologist
Psychotherapist
Photo source: https://www.notafraidtowin.com/animal-abuse-neglect-and-cruelty-attorney/
