The cost of keeping a pet in Greece has increased to unbearable levels for some animal lovers with the result that some owners are unable to meet the cost for food and visits to the vet. They often seek a new loving home for their 4-legged pal or they dump them on the streets.
Pet food increases are up by 40% compared to 2021, while charges at the vet increased by 15%.
Speaking to daily ethnos.gr, pet owners said that they ask animal welfare organizations to find another home for their beloved pet, while some do not hesitate to abandon them on the street.
The cost of providing medical services to pets by veterinarians has increased by 15% compared to the corresponding period last year, said president of “Stray Planet” charity association, Eleni Grammatopoulou.
The increase is even bigger when it comes to buy animal food as it soared ti 40% in the last two years.
On her part, the president of the Panhellenic Veterinary Association, Athena Trachili, told ethnos.gr that the cost of providing veterinary services is the same as last year, since her colleagues have absorbed a large part of the high taxation and the increase in the prices of the first materials.
Animal lovers are looking for the cheapest vet
According to Grammatopoulou, because the requested costs have reached very high levels and vary from vet to vet and from clinic to clinic, pet owners are now doing market research in order to find the veterinarian who will charge take lower prices for a sterilization or a vaccine.
The cost is now prohibitive for someone who loves a companion animal and cares for it.
“The vets tell us that the cost of raw materials has gone up significantly, which we also see to some extent in the invoices. When someone takes care of many animals, they get a discount from the veterinarian, who gets less money for his personal work,” Grammatopoulou pointed out.
Owners give their pets for adoption
The president of “Stray Planet” stressed that there are now many pet owners who cannot afford the cost to keep a pet and are asking for help from animal welfare associations.
In fact, many owners ask to find another home for their pet and give it for adoption, while there are also those who abandon them on the street.
However, most of those dump their pets are those who are faced with a change in their social or professional circumstances.
“When we see someone who loves their animal and has difficulty keeping it for financial reasons, we do everything we can to help them. We have even found jobs for the unemployed. We have also given many animals for adoption to new homes, if their owner cannot take care of them”, Grammatopoulou added.
Vets: Charges same as last year
Veterinarian Trachili spoke of “charges at the same levels as last year” adding, however , that this happens despite the fact that her colleagues now face “very high rents for their clinics, with an increase in the cost of raw materials and with excessive insurance contributions.”
“We have one of the highest VAT rates in the entire European Union, which must be reduced. It is not the case that the costs we are asking for are increased compared to last year. Although we have a lot of expenses for our clinics, we have absorbed a lot of increases. However, we cannot do our work voluntarily”, Trachili emphasized.
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