 A Stray Dog in Athens
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Oct. 2, 2003 — A Greek animal rights group on Wednesday accused the local organizers of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens of the "disappearance" of 3,000 stray dogs from the capital's streets in August.
The group accused the Athens Organizing Committee of pressuring the Greek capital's municipal authorities into three street-cleansing crackdowns since December during which thousands of dogs disappeared.
The Athens Organizing Committee, at the behest of the International Olympic Committee, "pressured Athens municipalities and suburbs to settle the stray dog problem," said group president Marianna Polychroniadou.
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The Athens Organizing Committee, for its part, rejected the accusations, saying the animal rights group "was not in touch with reality and undermines the image of our country."
The organizing committee said just 62 stray animals were retrieved in August, the month in which the first batch of Olympic test events took place in the city.
"They were sterilized, cured and set free," the Athens Organizing Committee said in a statement.
Greece announced in July that it was to spend one million euros ($1.15 million) to set up camps and clinics to collect, sterilize and vaccinate stray animals ahead of the 2004 Olympics Games.
The Athens Organizing Committee ruled out widespread euthanasia for the animals, unless that was considered necessary to "safeguard public health."
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