AN OVERVIEW OF FERAL AND SEMI – FERAL POPULATIONS IN GREECE Hello, I am Nikos Kostaras and I am a member of the NGO AMALTHEIA. My presentation has to do with the Greek feral and semi-feral populations in general. A small presentation of Amaltheia and its purpose. A description of the Greek landscape and its peculiarities compared to the rest of Europe. Evolution of indigenous breeds of farm animals in Greece. Current situation Management, Husbandry and Legal Implications Feral and Semi-Feral breeds in Greece. AMALTHEIA AMALTHEIA is a Greek NGO association of natural persons and legal bodies, whose main purpose is to record, study, protect and Preserve all breeds of Indigenous farm and companion Animals. Amaltheia was created in 2006 with the aid of SAVE Foundation. Today members of AMALTHEIA are 9 legal bodies and many individuals. LANDSCAPE Greece consists of a mountainous, peninsular mainland expanding out into the Mediterranean Sea at the southern end of the Balkans . Although Greece is a small country compared to other European countries it has the 10th longest coastline in the world with14, 880 km (9,246 mi). Its total wold is 130,800 km 2 and its land boundary is 1,160 km (721 mi). Eighty percent of Greece consists of mountains or hills, making the country one of the most mountainous in Europe. Mount Olympus , the highest in the country rises 2,917 m (9,570 ft) above sea level. Western Greece contains a number of lakes and wetlands and is dominated by the Pindus mountain range. The Pindus, a continuation of the Dinaric Alps , reaches an elevation of 2,637 m (8,652 ft). Pindus is characterized by its high, steep peaks, often dissected by numerous canyons and a variety of other landscapes. The Vikos Gorge , part of the Vikos-Aoos National Park in the Pindus range, is listed by the Guinness book of World Records as the deepest gorge in the world Northeastern Greece features another high-altitude mountain range, the Rhodope range, spreading across the region of East Macedonia and Thrace ; this area is covered with vast, thick, ancient forests. Extensive plains are primarily located in the regions of Thessaly , Central Macedonia and Thrace . They constitute key economic regions as they are among the few arable places in the country. The islands are another characteristic of Greece’s morphology and an integral part of the country’s culture and tradition. Greek sovereign land includes between 1,200 and 6,000, islands and islets depending on the definition scattered in the Aegean and Ionian Seas, of which only 227 islands are inhabited. This is a truly unique phenomenon for the European continent. The climate of Greece is primarily Mediterranean , featuring mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. This climate occurs at all coastal locations. The Pindus mountain range strongly affects the climate of the country, as areas to the west of the range are considerably wetter on average than the areas lying to the east of the range The mountainous areas of Northwestern Greece as in the mountainous central parts of Peloponnese feature an Alpine climate with heavy snowfalls. The inland parts of northern Greece, in Central Macedonia and East Macedonia and Thrace feature a temperate climate with cold, damp winters and hot, dry summers with frequent thunderstorms. Snowfalls occur every year in the mountains and northern areas, and brief snowfalls are not unknown even in low-lying southern areas, such as Athens. Phytogeographically , Greece belongs to the Boreal Kingdom and is shared between the East Mediterranean province of the Mediterranean Region and the Illyrian province of the Circumboreal Region . According to the World Wide Fund for Nature and the European Environment Agency , the territory of Greece can be subdivided into six ecoregions : the Illyrian deciduous forests , Pindus Mountains mixed forests , Balkan mixed forests , Rhodope mountain mixed forests, Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests and Crete Mediterranean forests. It is obvious to everyone that Greece is not an average country compared to the rest of Europe. It consists of a continuous change in landscape and has a vast range in altitude, temperature, humidity etc. This peculiarity of the Greek land is challenging and demanding for all life forms that inhabit the region. All forms of life have to adapt to this special environment in order to survive. EVOLUTION Due to environmental and climatic conditions, most of the mountainous and island areas have a great flora variety but a limited flora production. This phenomenon of low productivity favors small animal size. This trend is not new. Fossils found in various places around Greece dating back to the last ice age revealed dwarf elephants, rhinos, hippopotamus and other animals. One of the visible characteristics of most Greek breeds is the small size because large animals cannot survive with such a limited feed source. Other characteristics dictated by the environment when comparing Greek to many foreign breeds are: The ability to survive on minimal feed and water rations, having adapted perfectly to this hard environment. Most Greek breeds need limited or no stabling facilities. These indigenous breeds are known to withstand extreme temperature conditions ranging from -15C in the winter to +40C in the summer. Many of these breeds live outdoors all year round even if stabling is offered to them. Resistance to parasites and diseases is another characteristic of our indigenous breeds. Evolution has equipped the Greek breeds to resist many problems caused by parasites, skin diseases, sun induced problems (photosensitivity) etc. The ability to move with ease in rough, stony mountainous terrain. This is impossible for many foreign farm breeds. Due to their adaptation to the environment Greek breeds have evolved another quality which is longer productive life. All the above, small size, resistance to diseases and the ease to live in these specific environmental conditions have resulted in a longer productive life compared to other imported breeds. One might say that, small sized animals have smaller produce than larger animals. This is true, large animals do produce more. Most Greek breeds produce less but the quality of their produce is greater in terms of relish, nutritional value and percentage of ingredients. CURRENT SITUATION A mixture of terrestrial environment, legal status and political choices has led to the current situation. In the 50s meat was scarce; herds were family owned, usually in small numbers but managed well for maximum produce. During the 60s a huge migration trend swept the country. Poverty forced people to migrate to big cities and foreign countries. This resulted in the abandonment of rural arias and consequently farm activities. From the 70s and 80s onwards many remaining farmers relied mostly on subsidies by the state. Their aim was to create big herds in order to apply for more subsidies. Produce became secondary, management was little or non existent. Today with the subsidy policy ending, the old generation of farmers retiring, and the young people preferring a city life, flocks and herds are neglected or slaughtered. The death of an aged farmer, in many cases results in abandonment of his flock, which roams free on the mountains. This downfall of animal husbandry has many causes. The existing legal framework does not work in favor of the farmers. Farmers have to overcome huge obstacles. The problem begins since in Greece the regulation concerning the slaughter of animals are very strict. This results in the existence of a small number of slaughter houses functioning around Greece. Consequently, a farmer living on an island with no slaughter house in theory has to transfer his animals to another island or the mainland in order to slaughter them. It is obvious that this farmer is faced with the dilemma to go bankrupt or be illegal and survive economically. The same applies for dairy products. The law forbids the farmer of making his own cheese depriving him from selling his products. The farmer can only sell his milk to wholesalers at a no profitable price. HUSBANDRY Feral populations in Greece were never many. In older eras feral populations were mostly horses that roamed free in areas where humans did not exploit. These hoses were old horses that could no longer offer their services or horses with health problems. These animals formed groups and reproduced forming herds. These populations were used as a pool where farmers could obtain new stock for their farm activities. Today feral populations of farm animals in National Parks are subjects to the park’s authority. The parks authority is theoretically responsible for these populations but due to the lack of resources (human, equipment or financial) no real management is applied. Other feral populations usually live in state regions where they can avoid contact with humans. These areas are usually sterile, non-economically exploitable areas (eg. wetlands close to the sea) or areas where people can not dwell (eg. mountaintops). Usually animals in this second category are left in peace as long as there is no conflict with humans. Semi-feral populations on the other hand are in a different status and can be found in numerous places in Greece. Semi-Feral Husbandry is an ancient tradition in Greece. A typical scenario has evolved exploiting a feature of the Greek landscape. Since Greece has so many inhabited islands, a farmer may move his herd on an island that is close to his residence. Islands provide a perfect barrier and animals can roam free without the worry of escaping or damaging foreign property. The farmer’s only obligation is to provide water and maybe small amounts of supplementary feed in hard times. For herds that turn wild (usually in cases where natural water exists on the island and the animals are not dependent on the farmer) caching proves difficult and is usually done by shooting, setting traps or with the aid of dogs and long crooks, as seen here on the island of Samothrace.