Found an injured animal on Crete?
Tap a telephone number to call, or an email address to write. Give the animal’s exact location, a description of its injuries and your contact number.
Serious injury: telephone the nearest vet straight away. Your hotel or accommodation host can help you find a nearby vet and explain the location.
Injured stray cats and dogs
Contact the municipality where the animal was found and ask for its stray-animal service. Under Greek Law 4830/2021, municipalities are responsible for arranging collection and veterinary care for stray cats and dogs.
Each contact below covers its own municipality. Other parts of Crete have their own council services. Ask your accommodation host to help identify the correct council if you are unsure.
Apokoronas
Stray-animal service
Chania
Stray-animal contacts
Platanias
Stray-animal service
Rethymno
Environment Department
Heraklion
Emergency collection of injured strays
Outside office hours: if you cannot reach the council, telephone a nearby vet for urgent help. Local animal welfare charities may also be able to advise, depending on their volunteers and capacity.
Treatment costs: ask the council which vet it works with and who will authorise payment. If you independently take an animal to another private vet, you may need to pay for its treatment.
Wildlife and other urgent contacts
Injured wildlife — ANIMA
For birds, hedgehogs, land tortoises and other wild animals, contact ANIMA for advice.
Send a photograph and the animal’s exact location via Viber to the same mobile number, including outside working hours.
Sea turtles — ARCHELON
For an injured or stranded sea turtle, contact ARCHELON’s 24-hour rescue line.
Suspected animal cruelty
Report suspected cruelty or deliberate injury to the Greek police. Use 100 for an urgent incident.
Call 10410
Call 100 (urgent police)
These short telephone numbers are for use while in Greece.
Help the responder find the animal
Share a Google Maps location pin, clear photographs, the type of animal and what appears to be wrong. Say whether you can safely stay nearby or help with transport. Follow the vet’s or rescue organisation’s instructions before handling an injured animal.
Contacts checked against official websites on 8 October 2026. Some official pages are in Greek. Municipal responsibilities and treatment arrangements are described in the Greek Ministry of the Interior guidance (PDF, opens a new tab).
