Nicosia municipality denies drowning kittens

The Nicosia municipality on Tuesday rejected allegations made against them by the Green party that they had drowned kittens.

The kittens were found dead in the Misiaouli and Kavazoglu park last week.

The municipality said on September 25 workers carried out cleaning work at the park and found feeding containers and a cat kennel in the bushes, which they moved “for the safety of the cats to another place where other cats were gathered.”

They added that four days afterwards, a concerned citizen contacted the municipality saying they could not find the cat kennel in question.

Following this, “a municipal employee showed her the exact spot where the feeding containers and the cat kennel had been moved to, and the reasons for their movement were explained to her.”

The Green party says that at this point, the cat kennel was upside down and its roof was broken.

They added that “although appeals were made to the municipality for the return of the kennel because there were newborn kittens present and there was bad weather expected over the weekend, nothing was done except for promising to give them a kennel on Monday.

It is believed the kittens were removed by their mother to a different area of the park which flooded during the storm, leading to their drowning.

“The little kittens ultimately didn’t make it. They were found drowned while their mother is missing,” the Green party added.

The municipality denied any responsibility for the kittens’ deaths, saying they “are not in a position to know what happened during these four days, nor the reasons which led to the state in which the kennel was found.”

The Green party disagreed, claiming municipal workers “moved the kennel violently, turning it upside down.”

Coordinator of the action group for animals within the Green party Anthi Mouzouri said “the incident caused anger and rage and we really wonder if this is the respect for the volunteers for the work we do.”

She called for an “immediate investigation of the incident in question and an immediate replacement of the kennel so as not to face such incidents again.”

The municipality also said it “strongly and unequivocally condemns any actions which come at the expense of animals’ living conditions.”

It said it is “fully in line with the provisions of the law on the protection and welfare of animals”, adding it “works closely with both registered animal welfare organisations and the veterinary services, with the main objective of ensuring the protection and welfare of animals.”