Why save just one animal when you could save 100?

I’m not just talking about finding a hotel or cottage where your furry friends are as welcome as your credit card, but rather those holidays to hotter climes where animals we consider members of our families are treated worse than the local serial killer.

I have just come back from Crete – blue skies, blue seas, temperatures in the mid-thirties and an attitude towards animals which in this country would lead to a court appearance.

Cats have it worse than dogs on this particular island, mainly because dogs have some value in the eyes of men who enjoy killing other animals. A hunting dog may even survive its fifth birthday.

Cats, however, regardless of their beauty or age, are mostly treated as we treat squirrels. They are tolerated, but not owned. In the summer, they become fat at the hands of tourists, reproduce like crazy, and then slowly die off over the winter as disease and starvation take them.

Many soft-hearted foreigners jump through all sorts of hoops to take one home. They pay vast sums for treatment and boarding, so the animal can qualify for a pet passport, then they pay freight to their own country. It’s horrendously expensive, especially for those bringing them into the UK.

While I sympathise with the emotion of this decision, I really struggle with the practicalities. Of course, for that one creature their life will change forever, but to me, it’s a little like taking coals to Newcastle. There are already thousands of animals in this country which desperately need homes.

There are charities which strive to help these creatures in their own countries. One of the crucial things they do is a mass neutering programme. Volunteer vets fly out for a couple of weeks and rather than basking on the beaches, they trap wild cats and dogs and make sure they cannot reproduce.

Removing the burden of reproduction will mean the females have a far greater chance of surviving the lean times of winter and males will be less likely to fight and then die from septic wounds.

Different resorts have different charities. So next time you’re sitting in a beach-front restaurant sipping chilled wine in the warmth of the night, rather than planning to give one animal a new life, I would urge you to consider supporting one of these charities and give many of its relatives the basic chance of survival. If you Google your resort name and add cat, or dog, you will hopefully find a programme where you can help 100 creatures for far less money than importing just one.

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