Skopelos Caring for Animals and Nature
Animal Welfare in Greece
When Barbara and her husband Brian retired to the lovely Greek island of Skopelos, they wanted to make a contribution to their new community. Both animals-lovers, the obvious problem of stray cats and dogs seemed an area where they could help.
Small Beginnings
“When I first started, I was just the ‘crazy English woman’,” Barbara explains, ‘But now I’m the person to call when animals in trouble, and that’s what S.C.A.N. is all about.”
Early Days
It took 18 months to set S.C.A.N. up to Greek legal requirements but now, with a multi-national committee, the organisation is growing all the time. S.C.A.N. advertises its work, raises money and provides a focal point for concerns or alerts. Volunteers are trained to handle small procedures and the ambulance is available for vets who arrive for an unusual holiday with free accommodation in return for all the cats they can neuter!
Why So Many Strays?
“People are often surprised to learn that this is a significant religious issue.” Barbara explains, “The Greek Orthodox Church does not approve of neutering because it interferes with the animal as created by God. Think how many kittens one tom can father in a year! But I’m not here to cause a moral dilemma for anyone - it’s not always the simple decision it seems.”
Working Animals
Keeping pets is not important to everyone and on Skopelos, an industrial olive-growing island, working animals matter more. Donkeys and mules are generally well-cared for, and guard-dogs too, as they are seen to serve a useful role. Cats, however, can be treated as vermin, and good guard-dogs are often noisy enough to be more trouble than they’re worth, so end up abandoned.
Left Luggage
Strays can come from outside as well and tourists often bring pets on holiday then abandon them. Abandoned animals have included six pure bred spaniel pups, a Lhasa Apso, Yorkshire Terriers and a Saint Bernard. “It seems strange to abandon an expensive dog, that might be sold or rehomed or simply brought to me! I’m afraid that while cultural differences can be understood and worked with, people all over the world are often just unkind and selfish.”
Volunteers and Helpers
Fortunately, a great many other people are neither and S.C.A.N. benefits with help from unlikely places, such as animal feed via the local co-operative and the hydrofoil transporting cats and dogs being rehomed away from Skopelos. The airport and a taxi service in Athens also ferries animal travellers along their journey. Local expertise is also invaluable, such as the lawyer who helps in understanding island procedures and the knowledge of a marine biologist when S.C.A.N. gets called to wild animals, which have included snakes, swans and a colony of frogs.
S.C.A.N in Action
S.C.A.N. runs a 24 hour first-aid service and can be called for accidents, injuries and neglect. Barbara says, “I’ve been called out to dogs run over and left to die by the road, and dumped kittens and puppies literally by the bagful.” In the years since S.C.A.N. started, over 300 puppies and 500 kittens have been found still alive in plastic bags, and while the weaker ones have to be put down, most are successfully rehomed.
So, Would She do it All Again?
Barbara is thoughtful for a moment, then she says, “It’s hard work and I get tired, and sometimes I think I’ve had enough, but then a kitten or a puppy turns up and what else can I do? ” She smiles then, watching a half-gown kitten heading for the well-stocked feeding station nearby, “No matter what I feel, when it comes down to it, yes, of course I would!”
Visit S.C.A.N.
For holidays in Greece, Skopelos is a beautiful small island, covered with olive trees, with wonderful swimming and a lively but relaxed main town.
S.C.A.N.’s kiosk is on the harbour and visitors are always welcome to call in for information or just to say “Hello!”
Skopelos Harbour
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Strays readily accept overnight accomodation!
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For work and travel
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A well-conditioned working mule
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