A world without stray dogs is something that every rescue advocate and dog lover wishes for, but it seems too far from reality to ever actually exist. There’s an estimated 200 million stray dogs in the world, after all, and a worldwide effort would be hard to orchestrate. Everyone can make a difference for the stray dogs in their community, but one person can only do so much.
However, one small European country has managed to make this a reality while finding homes for over a million local dogs in the process. But do you want to know the best news of all? Not a single stray dog was euthanized as a part of this mission! Today, one in five residents of this progressive country is a dog owner, and they continue to have zero stray dogs several years after becoming the first country to boast this honor.
It’s the Netherlands! They officially became the first nation in the world with zero stray, feral, or street dogs. The first reports of this project reaching its goal were released in 2019, but the efforts began all the way back in 1864. That’s when The Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals was founded and when the Dutch government first began punishing citizens for crimes against animals.
The Netherlands has passed several other laws regarding animal welfare and responsible animal breeding, including the 1961 Animal Protection Act. In 1996, however, the government ordered spaying and neutering all stray dogs in the country. This was the first step toward a nation with zero strays!
Collect, Neuter, Vaccinate, and Return
One specific program, the Collect, Neuter, Vaccinate, and Return Program, enabled veterinarians and animal welfare agencies to reach every street dog in the Netherlands. As the name implies, dogs were collected, fixed, vaccinated, and given a veterinary exam (and treatment, when necessary). This ensured feral dog populations stopped growing, and it prevented the unnecessary euthanasia of thousands of animals. It also prevented the spread of diseases which could harm both stray and pet dogs.
The other key difference happened when the Dutch government began imposing heavy taxes on purchases of pets from pet stores. This encouraged citizens to adopt from the animal shelter instead, and it led to one million formerly stray dogs being rescued!
Animal rescue and welfare remains just as important in the Netherlands as it was in 1996, which is why they’ve had success rehoming so many rescue animals. It took the effort of millions of people who chose to adopt a pet, but it’s safe to say that their effort paid off beautifully.
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