S.A.W.
Here is the latest news from the Symi Animal Welfare team.
As we are sent new information and updates I will post them here.
Donate to Symi Animal Welfare via PayPal: click here.
October 2008
As the few late visitors leave, Symi is bathed in Autumn sunshine, although temperatures have dropped of course.
Kittens born in late summer are now confident and playful, happy bundles of fluff can be seen everywhere one looks. In a short time though, this pleasing picture could all change especially if the weather deteriorates suddenly. Food sources ‘dry up’, the bins generally only contain household scraps, not much from restaurants these days!
Sadly, the annual UK vet visit didn’t happen this year, which means that there has been no neutering within the street cat community. A natural increase in population should soon become apparent, our winter feeding programme looks like being a big one. Over the last few years, more and more of our Greek friends have begun to feed cats in their neighbourhood, which proves that we are working together to maintain healthy animals. In turn, the street cats help keep vermin under control, which should ideally finish the need to use illegal and unnecessary poison.
We hope to maintain 12 or more feeding stations in areas where we know there are lots of cats, these will include, Chorio, Lieni, Lavinia, Pedi, Mylos, Harani, Yialos and Pitini. Our volunteers will provide a mixture of canned food, pasta and biscuits several times a week. For further information about volunteering please contact -symielec@otenet.gr
Thank you for your support and generous donations throughout the summer, Melanie Sharp
Symi Animal Welfare, Autumn News 2008
We are delighted to announce that the UK vet, Martin Bilson, will be on Symi again during October.
Due to general feeling and comment from tourists and residents alike regarding a declining cat population, S A W will not be doing any ‘random’ cat catching or neutering this year. We respect such comments and appreciate recent feed-back on this issue. Our intention has always been to help control and maintain a healthy cat population on Symi, recent reports suggest that our efforts and hard-work over the years are paying off. We will of course be monitoring the situation over the coming months .
For further information please email me at symielec@otenet.gr or telephone 0030 6978415546
Would you like to be a SAW volunteer whilst the vet is here, or during the winter-feeding programme which will commence later in the year. Or perhaps you’d prefer to become more directly involved? Please let us know.
Thankyou, as always, for your support, Melanie Sharp
Goodbye old Fella!
He closed his eyes and went to sleep, his exhausted body slipped so deep
Into a painfree state of thinking not even aware that he was sinking
Away from his long life on the Isle where he’d given much pleasure and made people smile
Our dear old friend Laki has now gone to rest
In our opinion he was one of the best…………we’ll miss you old fella!
Symi Animal Welfare
SYMI ANIMAL WELFARE SPRINGTIME REPORT
Best wishes,
Melanie Sharp
January 22nd 2008
The winter weather so far on Symi has been kind, the street cats are dry, healthy and aren’t forced into scavenging food-scraps from the smelly, rotting, damp waste-skips we’ve experienced in previous wet winters! There are feeding stations in a variety of locations in Yialos, Chorio and Pedi, our volunteers are as busy as ever providing essential food paid for by the generosity of Symi Visitors throughout the year. We are also providing food for a couple of abandoned dogs and 2 ’strays’ have actually been re-homed on the Island.
