Renowned primatologist and UN Messenger of Peace Dr. Jane Goodall sent a heartwarming video message to the Mayor of Karpathos John Nisyrios and to the leaders of non-profit animal rescue and education organization Animal Welfare Karpathos.
Known for her international animal advocacy work and scientific contributions, Dr. Jane Goodall is well aware of the significant number of stray animals throughout Greece for years. She also visited Greece in 2016 and 2018 for a series of lectures in Athens, Crete, and Thessaloniki.
Dr. Jane Goodall thanked the mayor for welcoming the programs and ideas that were presented to him by Dr. Anna Katogiritis, who collaborated pro bono with the Greek America Foundation on designing a volunteer spay/neuter campaign for the strays.
The program is set to take place on Karpathos island this coming June.
Dr. Goodall also individually thanked the leadership team of the nonprofit for their invaluable volunteer work: Alf B. Meier, Alexandra Desmond, Luisa Ricaldone, Yvonne Deutch, Sophia Hiras, Angeliki Frangos, Haidee (Theohariti) Pittas, Anja Van Rossum and Evie Moreno.
The representatives of the organization, Sophia Hiras-Micros and Dr. Anna Katogiritis have had a series of meetings with the mayor over the past year.
Plans for 2021 and beyond were thoroughly discussed, including the creation of a state of the art animal shelter on the island and the humane management of the stray animal population.
The island of Karpathos has over 1000 stray cats and a growing population of dogs.
The primatologist thanked all of the volunteers of Animal Welfare Karpathos for their wonderful animal advocacy work and urged Mayor Nisyrios and all the subsequent mayors to continue supporting Animal Welfare Karpathos in the future.
Animal Welfare Karpathos (Φιλοζωική Δράση Καρπάθου) relies solely on donations for the rescue, foster and adoptions of the many animals in need. To find out how you can support the organization, please click here.
*Read More: Meet Calypso: The Greek President’s adopted kitten from Karpathos
