Irini Molfesi

It started as a queen’s vision and evolved into the country’s only botanical and at the same time historical garden, but mainly into an irreplaceable island of greenery in the concrete chaos of Athens.

Though Greece has made significant strides in treating animal abuse as the punishable crime that it is, activists and advocates say the system is still largely dysfunctional and allows many perpetrators to get away with it.

Following two highly publicized cases of animal abuse last week, rights groups say that the number of cases being reported is constantly on the rise.