Holland Has Become The First Country Without Any Stray Dogs

[Me.]

Read all about it at the link below

“The World Health Organisation estimates there are around 200 million stray dogs worldwide. However, the Netherlands is not contributing to this statistic as it has become the first country in the world without any stray dogs!Aug 5, 2019”

https://dutchreview.com/culture/society/how-did-the-netherlands-manage-to-become-the-first-country-to-have-no-stray-dogs/

[Beringia]

1. The article doesn't say

what happened to the stray dogs they returned to the streets after neutering, did they die off.

Or what happens if a person abandons a dog.

Or what happens if a person lets their dog roam.

[dewsgirl]

3. I'm happy I read your comment..i was wondering. I mean there

has to be a few, I would think.

[Me.]

7. Besides Spaying & Vaccinating Dogs Holland Has Taken The Following Steps

“After that, the Dutch government passed laws to improve animal rights and protect their health.

They also raised taxes on store-bought dogs to encourage adopting rescue dogs from shelters.
But that’s not all. Since then, the Dutch have established an animal police force, responsible for investigating animal neglect and rescuing pets from dangerous situations.

“Animals — and our entire society — need the animal police,” said Marianne Thieme, leader of the Party for the Animals. “There is a direct link between violence against animals and violence against humans.”

In the meantime, the government ran an energetic campaign to encourage adoption and fight against animal abuse.

Nowadays, roughly 90 percent of Dutch residents own a dog, having taken a million of them off the streets.”

https://animalchannel.co/holland-first-country-no-streetdogs/

[Arthur_Frain]

2. There are no gay people in Russia either

nt

[dewsgirl]

4. This...+1000.

[Voltaire2]

8. it would actually have to be: "there are no homeless gay people in Russia"

There are a lot of dogs in the Netherlands. 90% of households include a dog.

Perhaps read the article?

"These days, about 90% of Dutchies own a dog, having taken a million of them off the streets."

[mr_lebowski]

5. Any country could have few or no stray dogs if they really set their minds to it ...

Question is ... what happens to the ones that there USED to be?

[Doremus]

27. It's in the article. They were adopted. nt

[George II]

9. I've lived in four states and about a dozen communities in the last 60+ years, the last time...

...I saw a stray dog was in my first neighborhood in Brooklyn in the 1950s.

[Me.]

10. There Seems To Be A Lot Of Dismissiveness In This Thread

I see no reason for Holland to lie and I think the steps they've taken are very proactive. I don't see strays around where I love either but I know this city and the country as a whole are abundant with them. Spaying and vaccinating would be a good first step. I'm also happy that in this country animal abuse is becoming a felony.

[CharleyDog]

20. "I see no strays" - in fact across America, the dog shelters are FULL of dogs (and cats)

which are usually euthanized. Then people buy more dogs, and then neglect, abuse, or just abandon the dogs which go to the shelter.

I admire the Dutch approach, and we should emulate these "best practices"

[H2O Man]

11. Recommended.

That's impressive!

[Me.]

13. Thanks For The KR

considering your menagerie...

[H2O Man]

15. My 89-year old aunt

takes in every stray cat or dog in the region. Finds homes for most of them, keeps the rest. Back in the day, when she raised dogs, she sold several to the top guys in the Nixon administration. I've forgiven her for that.

[Me.]

16. :)

[MoonRiver]

12. Wonderful news!

When we were in Istanbul about 7 years ago, that city was doing the same proactive things to help stray dogs, and cats. Hope it's still going on there.

[Me.]

14. +1

[pnwmom]

17. I don't believe it. They might have a low number, but zero? No way. Also,

in one place they say that about 1 in 3 homes have a dog. In another place they say 90% of "Dutchies" own a dog. That's a pretty radical difference. No one was fact checking this.

[Me.]

18. But Why Lie About It?

It's not like there's a prize and most of the reaction has been like yours.

[pnwmom]

19. I don't know. To sell ad space? In one place they said that 1/3 own a dog, and in at the end

they say 90% Clearly, factual correctness wasn't a high priority.

[DFW]

21. I'm skeptical, and I'm in Holland once a week, and don't recall seeing a stray dog

But I usually run over to my office there and back. Sure I see dogs around, but who am I to say if they are stray or not?

On the other hand, I contrast this with a city like Dubrovnik in Croatia, that has so many stray cats, they seem more plentiful than pigeons in Central Park.

[Farmer-Rick]

22. When we first moved to the farm in rural TN there were packs of stray dogs that would kill livestock

to survive. You would see them on the road, packs of 5 to 10 dogs.

Then the strays gradually all disappeared and the coyotes moved in.

I do notice a lot of people taking more careful care of their dogs today. We have many more shelters and an actual animal control department in the county. But I'm wondering if the coyotes just killed the strays.

[JeaneRaye]

23. Thanks for posting. Better to reduce the number of unwanted pets than to constantly...

I have been thinking lately about how to go about reducing the number of unwanted pets waiting to be adopted from our local shelters. It would be so much nicer than to be constantly asked to give to the SPCA and the Humane Society to support that ones that are there. I believe years ago, the city I live in tried to past some kind of ordinance that targeted this very problem but never made it very far. I really don't remember why. If people were required to neuter or spay their pets or face stiff fines, it would be a start. Also outlawing puppy mills would help. People who breed their animals as a source of income also should need to follow some kind of regulations to limit the amount of puppies that are produced this way. Personally, I think that until the numbers of animals in the shelters start to trend downwards, people shouldn't be breeding their animals to make more.

[Me.]

24. What About Fostering Until A Forever Home Can be Found?

[JeaneRaye]

25. Doesn't solve the problem.

For sure, it takes the animals out of the shelters, but it doesn't solve the problem of overpopulation.

[Me.]

26. True

That's where spaying and neutering comes in

[secondwind]

28. I have a half-sister who has been living in Holland for over 35 years. We are close, but

she is way more progressive than we are here, these people REALLY do take almost everything very seriously.

I'm not surprised by the OP at all.. I will remember to ask my sister next time we speak on the phone.

[Me.]

30. I Would Be Interested In What She Says

[StarryNite]

29. This post made my day!

Thank you!

Best Friends 'Save Them All" is working towards this.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

31. Some years ago I did volunteer work at a local animal shelter.

Very rewarding work.

They did some community outreach, and one poster they had really struck me. I'm forgetting the precise numbers, but at the time, to house every single cat and dog in shelters, every single family would need to take in 7 cats and 4 dogs, or maybe it was 9 dogs and 5 cats. Again, I don't recall the exact numbers, but they were more than most people could reasonably take in, even assuming every family was happy with both cats and dogs. Most of us want one or two of our preferred species.

[Codeine]

32. "There are hardly any stray dogs

in the Netherlands which is why they are hailed as having eradicated the issue.”

That makes no sense. There are clearly some small number of strays even according to this absolutely half-assed article (writing standards continue to decline even in Europe, it would appear) so breathless claims about eradication or “without any stray dogs” are absurd.