Paper short abstract:

Stray animals are often considered a problem in cities across the world. In this paper, the strays living in the town of Rhodes, Greece are discussed in relation to their dwelling place and right to it from my experiences of charity work and with reference to the 21st century animal right discourse.

Paper long abstract:

Stray animals are generally considered as a problem and or as a non-existing factor, especially in towns and cities across the world. This attitude runs back to the idea of them being homeless, filthy and unhealthy, i.e. as trash nobody should touch or care about. Many European countries are known for having a large population of stray cats and dogs living in both towns, cities and in the countryside. In this paper, the stray animals living in the town of Rhodes, Greece are discussed in relation to their dwelling place and right to it. The town of Rhodes and the villages accommodate approximately 20 000 stray cats. Stray dogs live in the villages but are often being abandoned in the city. The number of stray dogs is not as high as the number of stray cats. Due to the economic crises in Greece, the number of homeless animals in Rhodes is expanding. In the paper, the current and future conditions of stray animals are presented and discussed according to my own experiences of charity work among the animals, as well as in reference to the 21st century animal right discourse. Questions of who claims the city space and what kind of a role stray animals play or don´t play in the space is addressed. My paper also focuses on questions of urban decay, co-existence and animal wellbeing.