In many popular tourist destinations, there are substantial stray cat and dog populations. In a normal year, tourists will feed the animals, report when they are hurt or in trouble, and even volunteer with groups on the ground to help with feeding or spay and neuter operations. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, those populations of stray animals have suffered gravely as a result of loss of tourism. Will you sign the petition asking that Istanbul, Montenegro & Athens figure in a budget to manage their stray animal populations ethically?
A charity called Kotor Kitties in Montenegro said that within days of government shutdowns for COVID-19, “People were writing to us saying that the cats in their neighborhoods were just howling with hunger.” The inhumanity of allowing animals that are used to human assistance to starve is almost unspeakable. Groups on the ground do as much as they can, but really each city and country needs to factor their stray populations into their budgets instead of relying on charity and tourism.
COVID-19 has been horrendous for everyone, but we can’t forget about the innocent animals that rely on humans! It’s our fault they cannot survive without us and therefore our job to step in.