A hotel owner in Halkidiki, northern Greece, was fined by the authorities for animal abuse for using two parrots as teasers to attract guests.
Animal rights group Animal Rescue and Defence Squad alerted the police and local authorities in the resort of Pefkohori.
“With the perfect cooperation of all of us, by order of the prosecutor, two Macaw parrots were removed, which were being used for profit on the beach of Pefkohori,” the group said in a Facebook post.
A lawsuit was filed for passive abuse of animals and by order of the Prosecutor of Halkidiki the animals were removed and administrative fines provided for in article 14 of a 2021 law amounting to €20,000.
“We hope that our actions can help reduce the use of animals for profiteering,” Animal Rescue and Defence Squad said.
Macaws are a group of New World parrots that are long-tailed and often colorful, in the tribe Arini. They are popular in aviculture or as companion parrots, although there are conservation concerns about several species in the wild.
There are 19 species of macaws, including extinct and critically endangered species. In addition, several hypothetical extinct species have been proposed based on very little evidence.
Macaws and their feathers have attracted the attention of people throughout history, most notably in pre-Columbian civilizations. Their feathers were highly desired for their bright colors and were acquired through hunting and trade.
Greece approves tougher law against animal abuse
In 2021 the Greek Parliament approved a new law on pet ownership on Wednesday, which PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said will create rules so that no animal “will be abandoned, or abused.”
“Greece is changing and is finally adopting a modern legal framework for the protection of pets,” Mitsotakis tweeted.
Despite the new law cases of animal abuse continue in Greece. In a well-publicized case in 2023, authorities imposed a €30,000 fine on a 75-year-old man after his donkey, tied with a rope, got tangled and died in Koropi, east of Athens.
“This is the first time that the prosecutor’s office has described this heinous act, the slow and torturous death of an equine as a result of a heavy form of passive abuse, as a felony,” the Hellenic Donkey Center, a non-profit, said in a statement at the time.
In May 2022, police arrested a man who lured a cat near his table at a taverna and then kicked her into the sea in a shocking case of animal abuse.
The incident took place in a restaurant in Aidipsos on the island of Evia. It was caught on camera and was widely circulated on social media before police intervened to make the arrest.