World's oldest dog Bobi, 30, is also one of the luckiest

Yahoo -AFP, Levi FERNANDES, February 13, 2023 

Bobi, a 30-year-old guard dog who cheated death in his first days, is living out the end of his life as a celebrity in central Portugal after being declared the world's oldest dog ever. 

When he was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest dog on February 1, he broke a nearly century-old record previously held by Bluey, an Australian cattle dog who died in 1939 at the age of 29 years and five months. 

A purebreed Rafeiro, a Portuguese livestock guard dog whose normal life expectancy is between 12 and 14, Bobi was not supposed to live at all, never mind make it this long. 

He was born on May 11, 1992, along with three other pups in a wood storage shed owned by the Costa family in the small village of Conqueiros in central Portugal. 

Because the family owned so many animals, the father decided they couldn't keep the newborn puppies and the parents took them from the shed the next day, while the mother dog Gira was out, said Leonel Costa, who was eight years old at the time. 

But they didn't realise they had left one puppy behind -- his colouring made him blend in with the surrounding wood. 

Secret existence 

Leonel and his sister were heartbroken that the puppies were being killed. 

But then they noticed that Gira kept returning to the shed, had a look and discovered the surviving puppy. 

They decided to keep his existence a secret until he could open his eyes. 

"We knew they wouldn't do anything to him then and that Bobi would remain with us. So we kept the secret," Leonel told AFP.

 "Afterwards, we were punished, but it was worth it," he said. 

Today Bobi is living out his twilight years oblivious that he is a world record holder, except for the media visits following the Guinness classification. 

"We didn't expect this reaction," Leonel said. 

Leonel attributes Bobi's longevity to the tranquility of country living and his human diet, which includes lots of meat and fish. 

"He has always eaten what we eat," he said. 

He has never been chained up or put on a leash and used to roam the woods around the village. 

Today walking has become difficult, so he spends most of the time hanging out in the yard with cats or napping after meals. 

Many of the Costa dogs have lived a long life. Bobi's mother Gira lived to 18 years and another dog lived to 22. 

"We see situations like this as a normal result of the life they have, but Bobi is one of a kind," Leonel told Guinness.

Dutch To Ban Unhealthy Designer Pets

 Barrons – AFP, Charlotte VAN OUWERKERK, January 20, 2023 

The Netherlands wants to ban the ownership of pets such as flat-faced dogs
.(Frank Rumpenhorst)

The Netherlands wants to ban pets such as flat-faced dogs and cats with folded ears, which look sweet but suffer "miserable" health problems, the government said on Friday. 

Dutch Agriculture Minister Piet Adema said he would seek to outlaw the ownership of the designer breeds and to ban photos of them in advertising or on social media. 

"We make life miserable for innocent animals, purely because we think they are 'beautiful' and 'cute'," Adema said in a statement.

 "That is why today we are taking a big step towards a Netherlands where no pet has to suffer from his or her appearance." 

Despite sought-after looks that have made them a favourite with celebrities and a fixture among social media influencers, such pets suffer from a range of health conditions. 

The Dutch minister said that owners often "have the best of intentions but are often unaware of the dark side of their pets' appearance".

 "This subject touches me as a minister but also as a human," added Adema. 

The government would now work out a full list of affected breeds, he said, adding that it could take some time. 

But the public broadcaster NOS said squish-faced pugs could be among those banned. 

The Netherlands banned the breeding of pets that are affected by their appearance in 2014, but some animals were still being traded illegally or bought from abroad. 

The proposed new rules are designed to close a loophole so that it will also be illegal to own them. 

In 2019, the Dutch government updated the rules to specifically apply to dogs whose snout is less than half the length of their skull. 

"Dogs with snouts that are too short are constantly out of breath, making them gasp throughout their life," Adema said in a letter to parliament setting out the proposal. 

"Dogs that have a deviant skull shape may suffer from a permanent headache. 

"Cats with folding ears have deviated cartilage which can cause them a lot of pain." 

Short-snouted dogs are constantly out of breath, the Dutch agriculture minister
said. (Mladen ANTONOV)

The fold-eared felines would definitely qualify for a ban, as was already the case in the Flanders region of neighbouring Belgium, the agriculture ministry said. 

"There is scientific evidence for these cats that they always suffer because they are a have a cartilage defect caused by a specific gene," it said in briefing notes accompanying the proposal. 

The government had asked for advice from experts in veterinary genetics at the University of Utrecht in the central Netherlands, it added. 

Any ban would come in after a transition period. People who currently own one of the pets would be allowed to keep them until the animal dies. 

Recent studies have found that pugs and other dogs bred to have short noses, such as French and English bulldogs, are more prone to health problems, particularly with breathing.

Canada launches investigation after 38 dead puppies found on plane

Yahoo – AFP, June 20, 2020

French bulldogs, like those pictured here, are a popular breed in Canada
(AFP Photo/Gary Gershoff)

Montreal (AFP) - Canada has launched an investigation after some 500 puppies -- 38 of them dead -- were found on board a Ukraine International Airlines plane at the Toronto airport, officials said Saturday.

The surviving French bulldogs, a popular breed in Canada, were suffering from symptoms including dehydration, weakness and vomiting when they were found on the flight from Ukraine which landed at Toronto Pearson Airport on June 13, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a statement.

The agency "will determine next steps once the investigation is complete," it said.

A dog handler who was picking up another animal from the airport cargo area where the puppies were discovered last Saturday told the CBC of a "horror scene," adding: "It was a nightmare."

UIA offered its "condolences for the tragic loss of animal life on our flight" and said on Facebook that it was working with local authorities.

Puppy sales are "lucrative" in Canada, Scott Weese of the University of Guelph told the CBC.

Most buyers believe the animals are bred in Canada, but the reality is "we have no idea how many dogs come in, where they go, where they come from," he said, adding that there was "potentially some organized crime component."

"You mentioned 500 French bulldogs. If those are going for sale at $3,000 to $4,000 a dog, that's a massive amount of money," he told the broadcaster.

Rare albino orangutan spotted in Borneo rainforest

Yahoo – AFP, March 4, 2020

Alba, the world’s only known albino orangutan, was released back into the wild
in late 2018 (AFP Photo/Handout)

The world's only known albino orangutan has been spotted alive and well in a Borneo rainforest, more than a year after she was released into the wild, conservationists say.

Alba, a blue-eyed primate covered in fuzzy white hair, was taken in 2017 from a cage where she was being kept as a pet by villagers in Indonesia's section of Borneo, known as Kalimantan.

Alba was released back into the wild in late 2018.

This week, the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation said Alba was spotted as it monitored three other orangutans who were recently released.

"After we learned that she can build nests, forage independently and is no longer dependent on human assistance we concluded that she can survive in the forest," said Indra Exploitasia, the environment ministry's director of biodiversity conservation.

Alba's rescue was some rare positive news for the critically endangered species, which has seen its habitat shrink drastically over the past few decades largely due to the destruction of forests for logging, paper, palm oil and mining.

Plantation workers and villagers are sometimes known to attack the animals because they see them as a pest, while poachers also capture them to sell as pets.

Chinese turn to social media to feed stranded pets in virus city

Yahoo – AFP, February 3, 2020

A man carries his dog in a shopping bag at a pet fair in Shanghai. China is home
to a growing population of pet owners, with pet-related spending in China reaching
nearly $24 billion in 2018 (AFP Photo/JOHANNES EISELE)

Beijing (AFP) - China's unprecedented quarantining of virus-hit Wuhan has separated millions from their families -- and many from their pets, prompting worried owners and kind strangers to take to social media to ensure left-behind animals are looked after.

The virus that has killed more than 360 in China emerged during the Lunar New Year when hundreds of millions were travelling across the country, and the subsequent lockdown on Wuhan and central Hubei province has left many stranded.

The hashtag "save the pets left behind in Wuhan" became the third-most searched term on the Twitter-like Weibo platform Monday, receiving millions of views from those unable to return to the city, where the virus is believed to have originated, and others willing to help.

"Please help me feed my cat", one user posted on January 30.

On Monday, he used the hashtag to post the happy news he had found a "young man" who had agreed to go and feed his cat Maomao.

"In the video chat, after the man opened the door Maomao meowed so miserably, no one has been home for more than a dozen days..." he said.

More than 2,000 people also joined a group created by the Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association on Chinese chat app QQ to look for "kind-hearted people" willing to feed pets left behind in Wuhan by owners unable to enter the city.

One member on Monday asked if anyone would be willing to feed a pet snake. "I'm worried to death" the user, who posted anonymously, said. "I didn't let him hibernate this winter because he's a baby snake."

That post had no takers as of late Monday.

"If any cats and dogs are stranded and you can let me in, I can help you feed them on livestream," wrote Katherine Cui in eastern Zhejiang province -- where the city of Wenzhou was placed under a similar lockdown to Wuhan on Sunday.

"I have many pets at home, and plenty of cat food, dog food and kitty litter, I know too well how important fur babies are."

The drive to save pets comes after multiple Chinese media reports said apartment complexes had banned pets to stop the spread of the virus, as well as unverified reports that people had thrown animals to their deaths for similar reasons.

While the novel coronavirus is believed to have crossed over from animals to humans at a Wuhan market known for selling live wildlife, the World Health Organization has said on its Weibo account there is "no evidence that dogs, cats and other pets can catch the novel coronavirus."

China is home to a growing population of pet owners, with pet-related spending in China reaching 170.8 billion yuan ($23.7 billion) in 2018, according to a report by Pet Fair Asia and pet website Goumin.com.

Animal sector calls for ‘fair trade mark’ for dogs

DutchNews, January 17, 2020 

A healthy and happy spaniel.

There is a fair trade mark for cocoa – so why not for pets? 

Animal rights and vets organisations, concerned about the sale of puppies of unknown backgrounds and health problems, have set up a FairDog platform. 

The website, which aims to be up and running within two years, should offer pet buyers puppies with a certified pedigree and reliable details about their health, behaviour and breeding method. 

According to the NOS broadcaster, some 150,000 puppies are sold each year in the Netherlands. It reports that many are cheap, come from Eastern Europe, and could suffer from health problems such as viruses and bacterial infections. 

Piko Fieggen, of the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals which is one of the FairDog project’s founders, told the NOS. ‘If you take on a dog, you want a nice dog that you can enjoy without problems. The goal is that in the Netherlands we soon only have healthy and well-socialised dogs.’ 

The initiative will offer a quality stamp for dogs offered on its site, and dogs from abroad will be checked rigorously for infectious diseases. The aim is that it will also offer advice for people who might want to adopt, for instance, a former racehound or stray. 

Linda Wouters, a dog breeder, told the NOS that a screening programme was wise, especially for dogs with a risk of genetic issues. ‘The French Bulldog is a race that often has a lot of problems and often it is simply bred rather than people making an effort to improve the breed,’ she said. 

Vet Mijntje de Beer, who works in Boxtel, warned that a cheaper dog would not come cheap in veterinary bills if it is not healthy. ‘I often see dogs from eastern Europe that just aren’t healthy, which have parasites or specific bacteria or viruses,’ she reportedly said. ‘You can’t take a puppy with diarrhoea to a training course so they quickly get behind in their development.’ 

There are an estimated 1.5 dogs in the Netherlands, and the demand for the pet is thought to be greater than the regulated supply. The FairDog partners have also submitted a report to the Dutch government calling for more co-operation to ensure only ‘well-trained and healthy dogs’ are for sale.

'It's a sin': Cambodia's brutal and shadowy dog meat trade

France24 – AFP, 11 November 2019

Siem Reap (Cambodia) (AFP) - Cambodian dog meat traders drown, strangle and stab thousands of canines a day in a shadowy but sprawling business that traumatises workers and exposes them to deadly health risks like rabies.

Khieu Chan bursts into tears when describing a job that haunts him as he goes to sleep: he kills up to six dogs a day, slicing their throats.

"Please forgive me. "If I don't kill you, I can't feed my family," the 41-year-old tells the 10 dogs awaiting their fate in a cage.

A cheap source of protein, dog meat is still eatem in several Asian countries from China and South Korea to Vietnam and non-Muslim communities in Indonesia.

Animal welfare activists say consumption has declined as the region's middle class has grown -- more people own pets, and there's greater stigma associated with eating dog.

But the brutal trade has flown under the radar in Cambodia where new research shows a thriving business involving roving dog catchers, unlicensed slaughterhouses and many restaurants in cities selling so-called "special meat".

An estimated two to three million dogs are slaughtered annually in Cambodia, according to the NGO Four Paws, which identified more than 100 dog meats restaurants in the capital Phnom Penh and about 20 in the temple town of Siem Reap.

"It has this massive trade," says Katherine Polak, a Thailand-based veterinarian who works with the NGO, which recently presented findings to the government.

Officials were "shocked" by the magnitude, she claims.

Rabies crisis

Motorbike riders criss-cross northern Cambodia trading pots, pans and cookware for unwanted dogs, loading them into a heavy rectangular cage on the back seat and making deliveries to middlemen.

Live specimens fetch $2 to $3 per kilo, incentivising suppliers to collect as many as possible.

Researchers say the dog meat trade is a public health crisis because it carries potentially infected animals all over the country.

Cambodia has one of the highest incidence rates of rabies in the world and most cases are from dog bites.

The trade also undermines local canine immunisation efforts by removing and killing vaccinated dogs.

Unsanitary slaughterhouses have no safety regulations as they aren't overseen by the government, and workers wear no protective gear.

"I got bitten by a dog but I did not get vaccinated because when I returned it was late at night," Pring That told AFP in a village in Siem Reap as he cooked dog meat stew with fermented fish paste.

Instead, the 33-year-old cleaned the wound with soap and lemon.

Industrial-scale slaughterhouses in developing countries put some distance between workers and animals.

But the Cambodian dog trade is hands on.

After receiving delivery, shirtless men poke dogs with sticks into holding cages.

They are then hung, strangled with rope, clubbed over the head or drowned in a pit filled with fetid water.

Just after sunrise in a village in Siem Reap, one worker pulled a dog out of a cage and hung it on the branch of a tree near drying laundry.

After gasping for breath for several minutes, it stopped moving.

It was then placed in boiling water to remove fur and chopped into parts.

"On a good day, I kill 10 dogs or 12 dogs," says former soldier Hun Hoy.

"I also feel pity for them, but I have to strangle them," the 59-year-old adds.

'Hear their cries'

Suppliers can earn from $750 to $1,000 in a country where wages in garment factories are under $200.

Productivity is crucial.

"It's faster to hit them," explains Dara, 30, a collector, trader and butcher.

"I know it's a sin," he adds.

Drowning is the preferred method of slaughter a few hours away in Kampong Cham and Kandal provinces.

"By putting them in the cage and drowning them in a pit, we don't have to hear their cries," said one woman.

Meat and parts are sold onto restaurants, where they are a popular with day labourers as a barbecued snack or a $1.25 soup.

The psychological trauma to bring cheap meat to the table is immense and those who find a better job take it.

Next to his dog cage in Takeo, Khieu Chan spoke about meeting Four Paws during their investigation of the trade.

In an unconventional twist, they gave him land for farming if he would close his restaurant.

One recent afternoon he helped the NGO gingerly take the sickly dogs out of the cage placed under a tree.

But before they were removed and sent to Phnom Penh for treatment, he knelt by the bars to say goodbye.

He says: "Now you have freedom. You are spared from death."

An animal rights collective, known as Dog Meat Free Indonesia Coalition,

together with world-renowned celebrities launched a global campaign to stop

the trade in dog meat on Thursday (02/11) at Hotel Gran Mahakam in South

Jakarta, in light of recent disturbing findings of animal cruelty in the Southeast 

Asian country. (Photo courtesy of Dog Meat Free Indonesia Coalition)

Related Article:

Advocacy Groups, Celebrities Call for End to Barbaric Dog Meat Trade in Indonesia

Malaysia hands jail term to laundrette cat killer

Yahoo – AFP, November 6, 2019

A Malaysian man was sentenced to 34 months in jail for killing a pregnant cat
by stuffing it into a laundrette dryer (AFP Photo/Jeff Haynes)

Kuala Lumpur (AFP) - A Malaysian man who killed a pregnant cat by putting it into a laundrette dryer has been sentenced to 34 months in jail, official media reported, in a case that sparked outrage.

K. Ganesh was handed the prison term Tuesday after being found guilty of breaking animal protection laws at the self-service laundry outside Kuala Lumpur in September last year, official news agency Bernama reported.

He will remain free on bail for now as he plans to appeal.

The 42-year-old was the second man to be sentenced over the killing after a taxi driver was jailed for two years for the crime in January.

Malaysians reacted with fury when CCTV footage went viral showing the cat being stuffed into the dryer late at night.

Two men then inserted tokens into the machine to set it running and left. A female customer later found the animal's carcass and the matter was reported to the police.

Sentencing Ganesh, Judge Rasyihah Ghazali said: "I hope this sentence will serve as a lesson to the accused and the public to not be cruel to animals."

He was also fined 40,000 ringgit ($9,700), Bernama reported late Tuesday. AFP could not immediately contact Ganesh's lawyers.

A third person was earlier detained over the killing but prosecutors dropped the case.

Kim's horseback ride spurs policy shift speculation

Yahoo – AFP, 16 October 2019

Analysts say Kimg Jong Un's horseback hike may signal a new policy direction
for the nuclear-armed North

New pictures of Kim Jong Un riding a white horse through a winter landscape to the summit of Mount Paektu, a sacred peak for North Koreans, have fuelled speculation that the young leader may be set for a major policy announcement.

The images released by the official KCNA news agency were accompanied by a gushing text, that noted the "noble glitters" in Kim's eyes, and labelled his snowy, horseback ride "a great event of weighty importance" for the nation.

Accompanying officials were left convinced that "there will be a great operation to strike the world with wonder again and make a step forward in the Korean revolution," the agency said.

Pictures of Kim Jong Un riding a white horse through a winter landscape have 

fuelled speculation that the young leader may be set for a major policy announcement

Analysts said the hike may signal a new policy direction for the nuclear-armed North.

"In the past, Kim has climbed Mount Paektu ahead of major political decisions," said Shin Beom-chul, an analyst at the Asan Institute of Policy Studies.

Kim hiked to the peak in December 2017 before launching diplomatic overtures that led to his first ever summit with US President Donald Trump.

But negotiations have been gridlocked since a second summit between Kim and Trump collapsed in February and the North has been raising tensions through a series of missile tests.

The official KCNA news agency described Kim Jong Un's horseback mountain 

ride as 'a great event of weighty importance' for the nation

The sight of North Korean leaders riding white horses across snow-capped peaks – and in particular Mount Paektu - have been a dominant theme of past photos, posters and portraits of Kim's father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung.

According to B.R. Myers, a professor at Dongseo University in South Korea who specialises in North Korean propaganda, the images present an imperial motif of a leader protecting the cultural and ideological purity of the nation from corrupt, outside forces.

Kim also visited the site of a giant construction project in nearby Samjiyon county, KCNA reported, and blamed US-led international sanctions for his country's hardships.

Kim Jong Un also visited the site of a giant construction project in Samjiyon 

county, KCNA reported

"The situation of the country is difficult owing to the ceaseless sanctions and pressure by the hostile forces and there are many hardships and trials facing us," Kim was quoted as saying.

North Korea is under multiple sets of UN sanctions for its nuclear and missile programmes.

Pyongyang and Washington restarted working-level talks this month in Sweden only for it to quickly break down, with the North blaming the US for not giving up its "old attitude".

North Korea tested this month what it said was a submarine-launched ballistic missile that marked a "new phase" in its capabilities -- the most provocative in a series of weapons tests it carried out since 2018.

Moon's posted two pictures of the pooches, one of them showing five furry white 

pups cuddled on Moon's lap with the sixth in the first lady's arms

Related Articles:

Doggy diplomacy: S. Korea unveils newborn Northern pups

Pyongyang gifts dogs to S.Korea's Moon

Two dogs, aged around one year old, were given as a gift to the South
Korean President Moon Jae-in (AFP Photo/Handout)

Ghost month grub: Dead pets get earthly feast at Vietnam animal cemetery

Yahoo – AFP, Tran Thi Minh Ha, Jenny VAUGHAN, August 15, 2019

For Nguyen Thi Xuan Trang, giving her dog Quoc -- who she thought of as a son --
a proper burial has brought her peace of mind (AFP Photo/Nhac NGUYEN)

Sausages, grapes, milk and mooncakes are laid at the gravestones of beloved cats and dogs at Hanoi's pet cemetery -- an earthly feast for the souls of dead animals believed to return from the afterlife for a meal to mark ghost month.

Dozens of pet owners turned out for a solemn ceremony at the "Te Dong Vat Nga" pagoda -- which means all lives are equal -- where thousands of dogs and cats have been laid to rest in the burial grounds on site.

It is a feasting ritual more often performed across Vietnam for dead ancestors whose souls are believed to wander the earth during ghost month and are honoured with a large meal offering before it closes at the end of August.

But the charismatic dog-loving Buddhist who runs the pet graveyard believes animal souls should be treated with the same dignity as human ones.

"We love dogs and cats not just in this life but in the next life as well," said Nguyen Bao Sinh, who opened the graveyard 50 years ago.

Thousands of dogs and cats have been laid to rest at Hanoi's pet cemetary (AFP 

Photo/Nhac NGUYEN)

He says he's cremated or buried around 10,000 animals -- including the odd turtle, bird or fish -- and charges $45 to $65 a year to pet owners to set up plaques and mini gravestones for their lost pets.

It's a small price to pay for those who want to make sure their beloved animals are comfortable in the afterlife.

"Bon deserves to have a decent resting place permanently so that he can be at peace," Nguyen Anh Minh told AFP after leaving milk, yoghurt and grapes for his husky who died earlier this year.

For Nguyen Thi Xuan Trang, giving her dog Quoc -- who she thought of as a son -- a proper burial has brought her peace of mind.

"I bought him peanuts and a mooncake because those were his favourite foods," she said.

Cemetary owner Nguyen Bao Sinh said people thought he was crazy when he 

opened the site in a country where dog and cat meat is sometimes offered as menu 

items for hungry diners (AFP Photo/Nhac NGUYEN)

Cemetery owner Sinh said people thought he was crazy when he opened the site in a country where dog and cat meat is sometimes offered as menu items for hungry diners.

Though cats and dogs are more commonly kept as pets in Vietnam these days, it's not unusual to see guard dogs confined to cages or illicit animal parts like rhino horn or pangolin scales used in traditional medicine.

Sinh, a former soldier who's now deceased dog accompanied him to the battlefield during the Vietnam War, hopes the pet graveyard will help people see animals in a new light -- and spread a message of kindness.

"Animals and humans are equal," he said. "When you love an animal you will not be cruel to human beings."

Dog pulled from ruff seas 220 kms off Thai coast to be adopted by rescuer

Yahoo – AFP, April 16, 2019

Local charity Smile Dog House has been caring for the dog, who will be adopted
by the oil rig worker who found him at sea (AFP Photo/Handout)

An exhausted dog found paddling 220 kilometres (135 miles) off the Thai coast is set for a new lease on life after an oil rig worker who rescued him promised to adopt the plucky pooch.

The tan-coloured dog, named Boonrod by his rescuers -- Thai for "survivor from karma" -- was fished from the ocean on Friday by rig workers who spotted his head bobbing between the waves in the Gulf of Thailand.

There was no indication of how he got there, or how long he had been lost at sea.

But local media speculated he may have fallen off a fishing vessel and paddled towards the rig.

Boonrod the dog was welcomed on the shore with a lei of

 yellow flowers and lots of neck scratches from port workers 

(AFP Photo/Handout)

Boonrod is recovering in Songkhla province under the care of a vet, an animal charity group told AFP Tuesday.

"Since he came onto the platform, he didn't cry or bark at all," Chevron worker Vitisak Payalaw said in a Facebook post chronicling the dog's rescue.

"He likely lost a lot of body water from the sea water."

Vitisak told AFP in a message Tuesday he plans to adopt the now-famous canine once he returns to shore at the end of the month.

Boonrod stayed on the rig for two nights before another vessel picked the pooch up on its way back to shore, arriving at a port in Songkhla province on Monday morning.

Local charity Smile Dog House has been caring for 

the dog, who will be adopted by the oil rig worker who 

found him at sea (AFP Photo/Handout)

In a video posted by animal rights group Watchdog Thailand, Boonrod was welcomed on the shore with a lei of yellow flowers and lots of neck scratches from port workers.

"Thank you for seeing the value of a little life that floats so far," said Facebooker Wanna Wongvorakul.

Boonrod was placed in the care of local charity group Smile Dog House.

"So far his health is ok... it's only skin problems that he's suffering from now," a Smile Dog House staff told AFP.

Minister brings users of electrified dog collars to heel, and gives cats a break too

DutchNews, April 4, 2019

Photo: Graham Dockery 

Agriculture minister Carola Schouten is to ban electrified collars to train dogs from next year and will tackle unscrupuous cat breeders at the same time. 

The collars are used to administer shocks to dogs from a distance but, the minister said in a letter to MPs, that they ‘cause considerable suffering’. 

The defence department has stopped using the collars but some police dogs are still subjected to electric shocks. 

Dog expert Martin Gaus said he was happy about the decision. ‘If a dog can’t be at home on its own or pulls at the lead, owners want to train it to behave. But if the animal can’t stand being alone it will get stressed. Zapping it with electricity will make it even more stressed out and miserable,’ he told broadcaster NOS. 

Gaus is not in favour of a total ban because, he said, because electrified collars can help in training hunting dogs but only if done by experts. 

The minister is also going to tackle cat breeders who, she said, are ‘creating new breeds without any thought to the consequences for the animal.’ 

‘This, to my thinking, shows a total disregard for the integrity, wellbeing and health of the animal,’ the minister said. 

One of the victims of unbridled cat breeding is the Bambino Sphynx. A quarter of these hairless cats dies while still in the womb and the breed has very short legs and no whiskers which makes it difficult for the animals to orientate themselves. 

The breed will still be allowed but will be subject to stringent breeding criteria and  unscrupulous breeders will be fined, NOS said.