Cyprus parliament amends dog registration law amid criticism from animal welfare activists

On Thursday, the plenary of the Cypriot Parliament passed amendments to the Dog Law, sparking immediate reaction from animal welfare advocates. Chryso Kakofeggitou, president of the organization Rights For Animals, publicly criticized the legislative changes regarding the costs of keeping unsterilized dogs. Kakofeggitou argued that the current policy is a significant error and fails to address the overpopulation of stray animals effectively. She stated that unsterilized dogs contribute to a massive annual increase in the dog population, estimating that 5,000 births annually could lead to 36,000 stray dogs within 15 years. To combat this, the organization advocates for a license fee for unsterilized dogs of up to 1,000 euros to incentivize mandatory sterilization. The activist group has threatened to bring abandoned puppies to political party offices to protest the lack of effective legislative measures. The goal of these proposals is to improve animal welfare and mitigate the burden on shelters.