Utopia Imagine... Crete without any stray dogs and all dogs are with responsible dog owners......there would NEVER be a stray dog problem

Addressing Root-Cause “We believe that the problem of stray dogs is caused by dog owners... irresponsible dog owners.”

Key Aim In order to reduce animal suffering and the number of unwanted dogs on the street, we must change people’s attitudes and behaviours and make them responsible dog owners.

Responsible Dog Ownership Love & care Food & Water Visiting vet Walking on lead Clean up Neuter Microchip

Subsidised neutering With participating vets CAWG and customer share the cost - Male at €65 - Bitch at €125 Free microchip

Marketing – why? “For the costs of helping one stray, you can print 10,000 leaflets to change people’s attitudes and behaviours and avoid many 100’s of strays in the future.”

Marketing – subsidised neutering Neutering dogs helps to reduce unwanted puppies and stray dogs Subsidised neutering incentivises dog owners Development of SNP & RPO campaign

Marketing – subsidised neutering Target driven Audience specific Multi media Emotive Call to action

The audience Two segments: Pet dog owners Hunters Each group requires specific approach, campaign and message

The Message Neutering the responsibility is only yours, the cost we share

The Campaign – pet dog owners TV advertising Shop posters Billboards RPO Information booklet Print advertising Events Merchandise Price promotion

TV advert High impact Consistent message Repetition Strong call to action

Posters She does not know what world she will bring her children into. If she did then she would not do it. Have you ever wished you were never born? Some think it every day. If this moment does not have a future, it is because you didn't neuter your dog in the past.

Posters Emotive and captive imagery to attract attention Consistent look for recognition Thought-provoking headlines Consistent message Strong and clear call to action

Posters

Billboard/booklet/Give aways Billboards at key central ‘walking dog routes (port and park) Information booklet about all aspects of RPO Free ‘give-aways’ with website & SNP number

Billboard/booklet/Give aways

Price promotion Male remain at €65, but costs for bitch lowered from €125 to €95 In light of economic crisis and financial pressures In order to keep stimulating demand €125 €95 NOW

Print & free publicity Magazine Patris Newspaper

Hunters – posters & print Message - A neutered dog is a better hunting dog 100% paid for Shop posters & hunting publications

Does marketing work? Increase in number of dogs neutered Dogs are neutered at an earlier age Proportion of bitches neutered increase Change in attitudes? Market Research...

Does marketing work?

Public Attitude Survey 2011 Setting research objectives Develop research method Questionnaire design Volunteer recruitment Surveying Data processing Analysis Conclusions

What we are trying to achieve? Establishing base data against which change over time can be measured. Obtaining an idea on attitudes and behaviours regarding responsible dog ownership.

How we did it? Over a period of one week in November 2011 Handing out questionnaires in centre of Heraklion (cafe/bars) Different questionnaires for dog and non-dog owners Volunteers collecting the questionnaires when completed Manual data processing Analysis using Excel

2011 Results Profile Dog Owners (74 responses) Mainly female, between out of centre, household of 4 people with children over 12 and mostly (58%) have one dog Profile Non-dog owners (129 responses) Male and female, between 18-44, household of 4 people with children over 12

Where did you get your dog?

Why do you have a dog?

Is your dog neutered? 83% of dog owners have not neutered their dog 78% do not have microchip Why neuter? Why not neuter?

Other RPO indicators 94% of dog owners visit the vet at least once per year Dogs are either kept in the house (49%) or in the garden /balcony not tied up (45%) 72% take dog for walks of which 71% at least once per day 59% leave dog unattended for 8 hours or more

Other RPO indicators Half of dog owners always walk the dog on a lead One in 5 dog owners do not clean up after the dog (80% does :) 29% of dog owners walk their dogs less than 1 every day

Views on stray dogs 28% believe it is normal to have stray dogs on the street (31% of non-dog owners) Abandonment of puppies and pets are considered the main causes of strays = irresponsible dog owner 77% believe that the problem can be solved by putting strays in shelters Question – does this address the root-cause of the problem?

Subsidised neutering “I don’t like subsidised neutering because I believe if people decide to have a dog they should be responsible enough to be able to pay all necessary veterinary bills, including the full price of neutering.” “I support subsidised neutering because it reduces the costs and people are more likely to neuter their dogs.” AgreeDisagree 77%23% 34% 66%

Results non-dog owners 65% believe that stray dog problem can be solved by finding them homes 43% believe that people are not behaving more responsibly compared to 5 years ago Not cleaning up after the dog is biggest irritation with dog owners What irritates you most?

Subsidised neutering “I don’t like subsidised neutering because I believe if people decide to have a dog they should be responsible enough to be able to pay all necessary veterinary bills, including the full price of neutering.” “I support subsidised neutering because it reduces the costs and people are more likely to neuter their dogs.” AgreeDisagree 77%/ 74%23%/ 26% 34%/ 41% 66%/ 59%

What makes a responsible dog owner? Top 3 1 st Giving the dog love & attention 2 nd Visiting the vet regularly 3 rd Make sure they have enough water & food Bottom 3 9 th Ensure dog has microchip 10 th Neuter the dog 11 th Walking the dog on a lead

So finally... In order to solve the problem of strays in the long term we must continue to develop responsible dog ownership through effective marketing and communications; We must also continue to measure change over time in order to understand if what we do works; We can not do it alone – all stakeholders should re-think their focus and apply resources that truly address the root- cause of strays.