The title is correct. A kitten jumped onto a table at the Aglantzia taverna in Nicosia, South Cyprus, the Greek governed part of the country. The table was unoccupied and was close to another table where customers were sitting eating their Greek Cypriot food. There were other clients present.
The restaurant owner was nearby. He had a walking stick. He smashed the kitten across his back. The kitten fell from the table with a broken back and could not move. The kitten thrashed and floundered on the floor. The customers were shouting to stop. A waiter kicked the kitten out of the restaurant. The kitten flew under the wheels of a car and was killed. Such is life and death in a well known, tranquil and charming restaurant in Nicosia, Cyprus. Some customers left immediately.
This sickening and astonishing example of cat cruelty in full view of paying restaurant clientele was reported to the local police. However, it appears that animal cruelty is often brushed under the carpet or kicked into the long grass in sunny charming South Cyprus.
Cats and kittens are a regular feature at restaurants in Cyprus. On the night in question there were lots of them around the restaurant tables. I have seen something similar in Rome, Italy. They can be charming. The customers accept them.
The Argos Animal Sanctuary in Limassol, South Cyprus and local animal activists will do their best to ensure that this animal cruelty, a crime, is not forgotten by the police. A demonstration is planned for 3rd August 2013 outside the restaurant to try and boycott the place.
My gut feeling is that the Greeks have less respect for the cat than the Turkish. As mentioned, South Cyprus is governed by Greece and North Cyprus is governed by Turkey or a Cypriot version of the Turkish government.
Turkey have their own famous cats: the Turkish Angora and Van. Mainland Greece is a tourist attraction and there are plenty of community cats in Greece. They are a feature during the tourist season and poisoned out of season.
Apparently about two years ago a Greek-style mass cat poisoning took place outside the restaurant in question. It appears the event in question was not one-off
There is a pressing need for a properly managed TNR program in South Cyprus. It appears the government just don’t have the will. They prefer to kill or ignore option. Although unlikely, perhaps this event will change things.
Sources:
- Harvey Harrison (PoC regular)
- facebook.com/argossanctuary/posts/10151741945824321
Associated: Spotted Street Cats of Cyprus
Harvey and anyone else-
There are various internet sites that give info and feed back for tourists. Trip Advisor is one. I googled Aglantzia, and looked at Trip Advisor for the site. No comments.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g3598211-Aglantzia_Nicosia_District-Vacations.html
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g3598211-d4591172-Reviews-To_Steki_Tou_Kosti-Aglantzia_Nicosia_District.html
Second link gives chance to review the restaurant. Given that there are no comments, meaning the place is off the radar (or was), probably a review mentioning the cat killing wouldn’t help spread word much.
But, hope you get the idea. Look for guidebooks and reviews online more generally for area, and post story there. It would take a group effort to do that, b/c a lot of internet searching involved.
Thanks for the effort VG. I was wondering how we could make our feeling known to this person.
http://www.justgiving.com/WearValleyandDarlington
this is the link Rose
Yes Rose, they have a donate button on their page here
http://wearvalley.cats.org.uk/wearvalley/support-us and for people who live in this area Ruth and I have started an appeal for cash donations. Thanks for asking xx
God this is so horrible that poor little kitten killed by that monster in Greece,do we have an email address so I can tell him what I think of him?
Then little Chester,bloody lousy scumbag brats doing that.
Are CP having an appeal for donations for his vets bills Babz or Ruth?
This photo illustrates very clearly the plight of uncared for animals. thttps://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151745286419321&set=a.189752934320.120846.184258804320&type=1&theaterhe plight of stray animals.
Hi Caroline and others. Yes you can pass the picture around and any of the information. Adamos Adamide the author of the article and photo asked everyone to share it.
The demonstrations are organized for this weekend when people ate off work and the Tavernas busiest. We can look forward to some interesting updates especially since one commentators said ‘ I know what I am going to do!”. In a country where animal cruelty is accepted and even encouraged this incident is getting wider than norrmal coverage. The word os getting around and I’ve seen it claimed that tourists are staying away because of Cypriot’s reputation as cat killers. How would anyone feel if a kitten were smashed to bits right in front of their eyes when happily sat with their family and kids enjoying a meal? Who could think of a better way of ruining one’s dream of a happy holiday in Cyprus? Actually it’s pretty typical of these bone-heads. They wanted to Hellenize the whole island over the dead bodies of Turks and ended up losing a 3rd of it over the dead bodies of Greeks.