Against hatred and destruction we reply with wildlife rehabilitation

On Sunday 28th April 2013, three environmental NGOs, “Action for Wildlife”, “EKPAZ” and “Callisto” in collaboration with the Management Agency of Koronia-Volvi protected area and the Forestry Department of Stavros successfully completed the rehabilitation of a juvenile jackal at the Stavros-Olympiada area.

Up to now, very few rehabilitations of jackals have taken place in Greece, a fact that implies the difficultness and great value of such a project. Information about the incident can be found in the press release [1]. In summary, the young mammal was found last summer seriously injured because of a car accident somewhere between Stavros and Olympiada. Since then and until its release to tit natural habitat, a long-term collaboration between the above mentioned groups, but also volunteer vets, began so that the jackal could be able to be released to its natural habitat.

This whole project, its scientific substantiation and validation, the collaboration, effort and energy put by all these people without personal gain and the long-term action of these groups, but more importantly the love and respect towards animals, come to meet two things:

Fistly, it replies to all the inaccuracies or (in a polite way) “blah-blah” anyone come out with, especially members of the Greek parliament do about “….ecologists that release hybrids… in Greece’s natural habitats”. And more importantly when these are said by people whose words and actions are characterized by hatred. Respect towards the other species that inhabit the planet and ecology are principles that presuppose the respect to human rights and belief in equality of all human beings.
Concequently it is at least comical, but also utterly dangerous, people who hate or spread lies to be presented as “ecologists”.

Secondly and most importantly, this release / rehabilitation symbolically answers to the destruction caused by gold mining at the North Chalkidiki forest systems. The place that the gold-mining companies are going to ultimately destroy is valuable both environmentally and economically and its value rests in the life that inhabits there. The forest system and its wildlife is the wealth of this place, along with the people and their health. A big number of scientific studies prove the inner value of this forest system and the great negative impact the open gold-mining will have on it. At this very place we “enhance” life and do not destroy it. We support the continuation of life at the ancient forest of North Chalkidiki with all of our power.

Action for Wildlife silently continues its work based on the unfaltering keystone of respecting life in all living creatures and the solidarity between people.
29-04-2013