Police draw criticism over inaction in animal abuse cases

Police are drawing heat again, as two new cases of animal abuse were made public this week.

In the first case, residents of a building in Strovolos said that a person who has been repeatedly abusing animals killed one kitten and injured another two on Tuesday, in his latest air gun attack.

The citizens said they reported the incident to the police, who have yet to act, as they claim.

They noted that they called authorities but the officers they talked to “did not record any details regarding the case and did not even ask whether they suspected anyone.”

On its part, police told philenews that complaints regarding negligence by its members are being investigated.

In a separate case, the Animal Party filed a complaint accusing a man in Ormidia of shooting his dog dead with his hunting rifle. In an announcement, the Party denounced the murder and requested an immediate review of the law on firearms.

The Animal Party cited data showing that at least 18 human murders have been committed in recent years with hunting rifles.

It added that Cyprus is fifth in the EU in gun ownership and one in three Cypriots has a gun in his house.

Consequently, the Party urged the Justice Ministry to act immediately “and put an end to this situation because the victims are not only humans but also innocent animals as well.”

Concluding, it requested that crimes against animals are investigated as seriously as crimes against humans.