Section Head: Anastasia Markantonatou
Phones: 210 3239201-202, 210 3310397
E-mail: t.astikis.panidas@athens.gr
- The Section is responsible for the collection of stray companion animals, which are taken to stray animal shelters, municipal veterinary clinics, inter-municipal stray animal care centers, or private veterinary clinics that have the proper facilities and can temporarily accommodate the animals until their recovery. Animals undergo veterinary examination, are sterilized, marked with electronic identification as strays, and registered in the online database. The Section collaborates with the competent municipal directorates on matters concerning the protection of stray animals.
- It ensures that stray companion animals that are collected and identified via their markings as having an owner—who has declared or neglected to declare their loss—are returned to their owner.
- It promotes stray companion animals for adoption according to the legally prescribed procedure.
- It ensures the return of stray companion animals to their natural environment in accordance with applicable legislation and provides for their feeding.
- It oversees the implementation and monitoring of animal protection rules and the system for the identification and registration of companion animals and their owners.
- It develops and carries out programs: α) Raising citizen awareness on animal protection and β) Promoting and developing the concept of animal welfare in the municipality’s schools.
- It operates citizen hotlines for issues within its competence.
- It may issue—if a competent veterinary service is available—permits for organizing companion animal exhibitions and licenses for mobile veterinary service facilities.
- It ensures the creation and operation of stray animal shelters.
- It is responsible for organizing and operating small zoological gardens.
- It oversees the preparation of service provision studies and procurement of materials related to its needs.
- It collects and processes all kinds of information regarding the operation of the stray companion animal management program.
- It has the authority to receive owned animals following a public prosecutor’s order, for the purposes of development, protection, assessment, and monitoring of animal production.
- It submits proposals to the Directorate of Municipal Revenues for imposing administrative fines—where applicable—under current regulations for companion animals.
- It maintains electronic and manual records of all incoming and outgoing documents and monitors and carries out all secretarial obligations arising from its responsibilities.
- It collaborates with the Planning, Programming, Administrative Support & E-Governance Section for reporting on its activities.