%0 Journal Article
%T The Coexistence of Humans and Companion Animals in the City Parks of Xanthi: The Views of the Citizens
%A Paraskevi Karanikola
%A Evangelos Manolas
%A Stilianos Tampakis
%A Thomas Panagopoulos
%J Urban Studies Research
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/462025
%X Companion animals are very important to people of big cities. In Greece the families which own those animals take them for a walk in the parks and streets of their town but not always with care to not disturb other citizens. Laws and regulations for companion and stray animals are not respected in Greece, although as a result of the Athens Olympics in 2004 the Greek government started to provide funds for the collection, care, and sterilization of stray animals. This paper is a first attempt to record, through the aid of a structured questionnaire, the view of the citizens of the city of Xanthi in northern Greece regarding companion animals and what they do when animals become old. The paper also examines the extent to which the existence of stray and companion animals in parks disturbs the people who visit green areas looking for a place to get a rest or play on the grass. The majority preferred that stray animals are collected off the streets, recorded, treated from parasites, vaccinated, and sterilized and after that are available for adoption or are returned to the area they were found at. 1. Introduction In all societies people coexist with animals. The interaction of humans with animals takes place in various forms from parasitism and rapacity to companionship [1]. Recent human history may be seen as a gradual displacement from life in nature to life in cities. Man is a species which evolved from the natural environment and, therefore, finds it difficult to live without some contact with nature [2]. The urban environment is a part of the global ecological network [3] where the combination of diverse human actions and natural forces will continue to shape urban green areas as an everyday environment for people. Nevertheless, in our movement from the natural environment to the cities we were followed by companion animals, which just like us also use the urban green. Generally, Greek cities do not have the green they should have. In Greece, only 2.8£żm2 of green space is available to each individual, whereas in Western Europe 20£żm2/person is available [4]. The inhabitants of Greek cities are called to share with companion animals this small urban space of green. Companion animals are very important to people who own them. The relationship of people with companion animals is often so strong that in cases of physical disasters their owners refuse to abandon their house without their pet [5]. Research has been carried out on the physical and mental benefits humans have from their companionship with animals [6]. Such benefits include the prevention and
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/usr/2012/462025/