With an announcement on Tuesday, the Green Party of Cyprus urges parents to be considerate when deciding to give animals as Christmas gifts to their children.
“Christmas is just around the corner. Unfortunately, the practice of offering animals as gifts, especially puppies has not stopped. Many parents believe that by giving animals as gifts to their children, they will enable them to develop an animal-friendly mentality. However, animals have a soul too and we cannot behave towards them as they are toys or Christmas decorations,” the announcement says.
The party notes that especially, in the past few years many dog owners have abandoned their pets, after they decided that they cannot take care of them. “Thus, people who want to give dogs as gifts must think it twice.”
Concluding, the party urges citizens to visit animal shelters with their children. “An animal is a good gift only if the child chooses it by itself and only if the parents are ready to take the responsibility of accepting a new member in their family. In such a case, we suggest to adopt a dog from an animal shelter.
“And always remember: pets are for life not just for Christmas.”
