Repeated shootings of animals have raised concerns about the enforcement of animal welfare laws, staffing shortages within the Animal Police and the regulation of air guns in Cyprus.
Citizens and animal welfare activists have criticised what they describe as an inadequate police response, while also warning that persistent violence against animals could be a sign of more serious violence to come.
Responding to the criticism, a police officer told en.philenews that the force’s response varied depending on the nature of each complaint. The officer added that clearer legislation and additional staff would help police investigate such cases more effectively.
The string of incidents has prompted some citizens to question whether people who harm animals may eventually turn their violence towards humans, and whether the use of air guns could lead to the use of more powerful firearms.
Vasiliki Mani, an animal rights activist and volunteer, told en.philenews that it was time to examine the possible link between gun violence against animals and wider forms of violence, including recent femicides in Cyprus.
Three cats shot in the same garden
A Facebook post by Irene Sidiropoulou attracted widespread attention last week after she revealed that three of her cats had been shot with an air gun in the garden of her home.
Two of the cats died from sepsis caused by their wounds, while the third was seriously injured but survived after undergoing surgery, she told en.philenews.
Sidiropoulou said she had repeatedly tried to contact the Animal Police but received little response.
“How many injuries and deaths will it take for you to do your job?” she wrote in the post.
She also questioned whether there was a point at which violence against animals could escalate into violence against humans.
“Sooner or later, a person will be shot,” she told en.philenews.
Other residents have reported similar incidents involving air guns. One woman told en.philenews that three pellets had been found inside her cat’s body, one of them “very close to the spine”.
After taking the animal to a vet, she was told it was not possible to determine when the shooting had taken place. She therefore decided not to contact the Animal Police.
The resident later began investigating the neighbourhood herself and said she saw a man standing on a balcony firing an air gun towards an open plot in a residential area.
She said she had heard of several similar incidents in Lakatamia.
Air guns difficult to trace
Air guns require a licence only when their power exceeds one joule, a threshold that some citizens consider too lenient given the number of animal shootings reported each year.
Tracing an air gun is also extremely difficult unless the weapon itself is recovered and matched to a pellet through ballistic analysis.
This makes it highly unlikely that police will be able to identify the source of a pellet removed from an injured animal without first locating the gun.
Citizens and activists also argue that air guns have become widely normalised in Cyprus, while their ability to cause serious injury or death is often underestimated.
Hundreds of animal abuse cases
Animal abuse reports in Cyprus have increased in recent years and have included poisonings, shootings, neglect, torture and the killing of animals.
Volunteers have launched several initiatives to document such incidents, including a website and Facebook page dedicated to recording cases that may never reach official police statistics.
A total of 286 animal abuse cases were recorded between 2021 and 2025, according to official police figures.
Animal rights activists believe the true number is considerably higher, as many incidents are not reported or formally recorded.
What has particularly alarmed citizens, however, is what they describe as the lack of response from the police, including the Animal Police.
A wave of social media posts this year has reflected public frustration over the way animal abuse cases are handled. Several posts have described the Animal Police as difficult or impossible to reach.
Mani said the increasing number of reports was particularly alarming when incidents occurred in heavily populated areas.
She told en.philenews that she had begun compiling evidence herself and had created a Facebook group where citizens could report violence against animals.
Her aim, she said, was to collect enough reports and evidence to prompt the authorities to act.
Is the Animal Police to blame?
Dinos Ayiomamitis, a volunteer and chairman of the Cat Paws society, told en.philenews that the main problem was not Cyprus’s animal welfare laws, but the way the authorities implemented them.
He said the three relevant laws, one of which applies exclusively to dogs, were difficult to enforce because the Animal Police was understaffed.
Ayiomamitis said the unit currently had around 15 officers serving across Cyprus and argued that the number should be increased to at least 50.
Preventing and investigating animal abuse should be the responsibility of the police force as a whole, he said, adding that it was wrong to place the entire burden on the Animal Police.
He also called for better training, including comprehensive instruction when officers begin working in the unit and annual seminars to reflect changes in legislation and procedure.
Ayiomamitis said members of the Animal Police were also assigned to investigate cases unrelated to animal welfare.
Cyprus needed officers dedicated exclusively to animal welfare cases, he said, adding that the country should match the level of concern shown elsewhere in the European Union.
He also said the procedures followed by the Animal Police when investigating complaints from citizens were unclear.
Charalampos Theopemptou, who led the Movement of Ecologists – Citizens’ Cooperation between 2020 and 2023, expressed a similar view.
He told en.philenews that the current laws were relatively strong, but that the main problem lay in their implementation.
Theopemptou said blame should not be directed solely at the Animal Police, which had too few officers and lacked the necessary training and equipment to deal effectively with animal welfare cases.
From violence against animals to violence against people?
The repeated shootings have also raised a broader question about whether violence against animals can escalate into violence against humans.
Mani told en.philenews that the possible connection between gun violence against animals and recent femicides in Cyprus should be examined.
She argued that the use of weapons against animals in residential areas should not be treated solely as an animal welfare issue.
A recent attempted femicide in Limassol involved a police officer who used his service weapon to shoot his wife, leaving her critically injured.
Shortly afterwards, the Chief of Police said officers were not required to undergo regular psychometric testing in order to continue carrying firearms. Instead, they were assessed only at the beginning of their recruitment.
The case renewed public debate over firearms regulation and the retention of military weapons after the completion of compulsory service.
Between 2020 and 2025, Cyprus recorded 16 femicide cases involving 17 victims.
Three further attempted femicides have been reported this year, one of which involved a firearm, prompting renewed calls for stricter gun control laws.
No direct causal link has been established between violence against animals and violence against people. The concerns raised by activists reflect fears that violent behaviour could escalate.
Animal welfare legislation
Citizens have also questioned whether the penalties for animal cruelty are strong enough to deter offenders.
In 2025, DISY MP Savia Orphanidou proposed legislation introducing tougher penalties for animal cruelty and the malicious killing of animals.
Under the current framework, a first-time offender may face up to two years in prison, a fine of up to €20,000, or both.
Repeat offences may result in up to three years in prison, a fine of up to €30,000, or both.
Orphanidou stressed that the law would be most effective if the Animal Police and Veterinary Services were strengthened so that they could respond more effectively to reports of abuse.
She also said a society’s culture was reflected in the way its citizens treated animals.
What action is needed?
Theopemptou said he was concerned that a forthcoming European Union regulation on cats and dogs would not be properly implemented by the Cypriot authorities.
He said responsibility for enforcing it would probably fall on the already understaffed Animal Police, which lacked the personnel needed to follow the required procedures.
Theopemptou also criticised changes made by the government in May to legislation governing dogs, saying the law had been “destroyed” in order to appeal to the hunting lobby.
As an example, he pointed to dog licence fees, which now cost €24 regardless of whether the animal has been neutered.
Previously, he said, a licence for an unneutered dog cost €140.
Regarding cats, Theopemptou called for a targeted, government-funded neutering programme to prevent the population from continuing to grow beyond manageable levels.
At least 70 per cent of cats in a given area would need to be neutered for such a programme to have a meaningful effect, he said.
He argued that volunteers were spending their own money on work that should be funded by the state.
Mapping cat populations and developing a comprehensive neutering plan in cooperation with local authorities could make a significant difference, he added.
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(Photograph taken from Vasiliki Mani’s Facebook group)