Netherlands Has Become The First Country With No Stray Dogs!

Netherlands Has Become The First Country With No Stray Dogs!

Stray dogs are an issue all around the world. They’re alone, scared, and in need of loving homes, and it always breaks your heart to see them suffering on the street – and there are 200 million of them across the globe.

But many good steps have been made in curbing this epidemic, and the Netherlands is now the first country that does not have any stray dogs at all, without the use of euthanasia! In this country, dogs were originally used as sporting animals and as a symbol of status, but in the 19th century, a rabies outbreak caused people to abandon their dogs.

In order to curb the stray population burden, the government introduced a dog tax, but it backfired severely and only led to more abandonment. Then, the Netherlands opened an animal protection agency in 1864. The rest is history – the country considers animal welfare very seriously, with abuse towards animals carrying three-year jail sentences and $18,539 fines.

The journey to eradicating the stray epidemic was a difficult one. Cities started imposing huge store-bought dog taxes. This led to more shelter adoptions, allowing more strays to be taken in. A Collect, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return program was also set up to provide these procedures for stray dogs. There’s also a police force meant just for animals!

The Netherlands is the first country to ever successfully take all stray dogs safely and happily off the streets. Hopefully, many more will soon follow!

Feature Image Source: Flickr

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