# greece



## warty

Hoping to travel through Greece this year with out dog. Have read in MMM that poison is laid on the beaches to cull stray dogs. Has anyone any knowledge of this practice?
Will be grateful for any information.


----------



## Zebedee

Presume you mean with ou*r* dog.

Edit quick, while you still can.

Dave


----------



## Addie

There is a very large number of stray dogs in Greece - further driven by the economic downturn (I would assume) which unfortunately means many puppies and household pets have been turned out.

This is fine during the tourist seasons, where they are temporarily adopted by holiday makers but once the season they become hungry, unwelcome and unwanted.

I have no first hand experience of seeing either dead dogs or anything that looks like poison (not that I'd know what I was looking for) during the 10 weeks we stayed in Greece - mainly wild camping on the beaches. But, I didn't see many (if any) pet dogs either - aside from a couple of motorhomers who had adopted dogs on their visit (we nearly did as well). There was a great number of stray dogs almost everywhere.

Some friends of ours (www.wanderingeurope.co.uk) were there more recently then us and reported the same thing. A picture from their blog is heartbreaking:


Click to Enlarge

I think it is entirely possible that stray dogs are poisoned, certainly I've heard third hand reports of both holiday makers and residents dogs being poisoned and there are lots of reports online saying that was the case.

I think it would be wise to be vigilant if taking your dog. We had an amazing time there and can't wait to go back.

http://www.europebycamper.com/search/label/Greece


----------



## warty

Thank you Addie for your reply.
Guess we will give it a miss.


----------



## nicholsong

warty said:


> Hoping to travel through Greece this year with out dog. Have read in MMM that poison is laid on the beaches to cull stray dogs. Has anyone any knowledge of this practice?
> Will be grateful for any information.


I have spent a long time in Greece over the last 30 years.

I agree with Addie's assessment.

I think the poisoning problem is where there are feral cats and dogs around inhabited areas, where there is waste and rubbish from which they feed.

If you were away from these areas and wild-camping near remoter beaches (best of Greece) there are unlikely to be feral animals or people to lay poison.

If on sites there should be no problem.

I think it is not a reason to avoid Greece totally.

Geoff


----------



## moby56

In Greece now and have been for last 3 months and have been feeding lots of dogs have not seen any sign of dogs being poisoned there are still groups out here who feed and try to rehome dogs. Also if you keep your dog under control it would be very hard for it to find things to eat
Don't let rumours stop you from going to Greece


----------



## warty

*Greece*

Thank you Geoff and moby56 for your replies I am feeling a little more reassured now as it would be the more remote areas that we should like to visit. Keeping a tight lead on the dog when in the busier parts.


----------



## OurTour

Hi Warty

I'm interested in people's replies here as we're heading over to Greece in a few weeks with our dog too. 

I suspect that there are cases of poisoning, but I've also heard the same said about Spain and Morocco. I've also read of it happening in the UK. 

Our pooch loves to snuffle anything he can get his paws on (we're in Tunisia right now and he's eating his own body weight in dates!), so we just Have to keep a close eye on him. There's very little else we can do!

Julie
OurTour.co.uk


----------



## warty

Hello Julie

Have been following your journey with interest and have very much
enjoyed your blog.
I have also emailed the Greek Tourist Office and they replied that as far as they were concerned there was not a practice of laying poison down on beaches.
Lets hope thats the case and hope you enjoy your time there without any problems for your dog.


----------



## OurTour

Thanks Warty

Glad you're enjoying our adventure with us. We're hoping to last in Tunisia and Italy until the camping on board season starts again for the ferry to Greece (1 April I think) to keep the cost down.

When are you thinking of visiting? Hopefully our paths will cross one day and we can have a good old pooch gossip!

Julie
OurTour.co.uk


----------



## SaddleTramp

Having been an avid Greek holidaymaker and own property there for over 30 years I have never seen a single case of poison being laid.

The vast majority of "stray" dogs are actually owned but as there is a vast amount of open land let run loose, also in the holiday season dogs are let "Out" as the holidaymakers feed them which is a big help to the owners, dogs are loved by the Greeks but they are rarely "House pets" and invariably escape from gardens, pens etc especially when a bitch is on heat.


----------



## busterbarron

We are travelling in Greece now and have just come back from our daily morning walk on the beach. We have not heard or seen anything of this practice of poisoning. We have travelled throughout Greece along the coast with our dog and have had no problems. In fact we have seen street dogs well looked after in towns, villages and even on campsites with food and water being supplied for them daily by the local people, even supplying wooden kennels for them.

Don't forget there are a lot of Greek dog owners who exsercise thier pets on the beach as well as us tourists, so don't let hearsay put you off coming to Greece, it's great here. 

Our own opinion is don't let rumours put you off, if you do, you will never go anywhere!

Happy travels

russandlynn.blogspot.com


----------



## warty

*Greece*

Thank you Saddletramp and Busterbarron for your advice, most reassuring.


----------

