Heart string

This starving kitten was tethered to a string by a beggar in Palermo. Clearly the beggar was affectionate towards the wee critter, so maybe it was his friend when in need? But perhaps it was tethered to encourage donations to help feed it? It certainly attracted attention of the passersby.

Also, why do tourists hire horse-drawn buggies to clomp around the hot, cobbled and crowded streets of Palermo and Rome? The horses obviously get used to the throng - one did not even flinch when a howling ambulance crossed a meter in front of its nose. But a city is no place for a working animal in my opinion and animal ethics should be front and centre of tourism enterprise.

When people get desperate, animals sometimes suffer.