Begging with dogs: aspects of animal welfare and official veterinary monitoring by the authorities of Munich, Germany

Döring, Dorothea; Chandraratne, Sue; Erhard, Michael (2022): Begging with dogs: aspects of animal welfare and official veterinary monitoring by the authorities of Munich, Germany. Berliner und Münchener Tierärztliche Wochenschrift, 135. pp. 1-8. ISSN 1439-0299

Abstract

In recent years, dogs have increasingly been used for begging in Munich (Bavaria, Germany). Especially at events such as the Munich Oktoberfest or Christmas markets people are found sitting on the ground with a dog and begging for money. The dogs are tied with a short leash for a long time, and often neither water nor weather protection is available. Sometimes the dogs are very young, ill or injured. In the period from 2015 to 2019, the Munich Veterinary Office performed 326 individual controls of 113 dogs. Animal welfare violations were found in 78 cases and animal health violations in 26 cases. The Munich Veterinary Office, together with the Chair for Animal Welfare, Ethology, Animal Hygiene and Husbandry at LMU Munich, developed measures to facilitate controls and improve animal welfare. These include the prohibition to use dogs that are younger than twelve months, that are ill or injured, that are in the last third of pregnancy or that show signs of fear or distress. Furthermore, adequate protection from weather and permanent supply of drinking water must be ensured during begging. In addition, it is not permitted to wrap dogs in a blanket in such a way that they cannot free themselves and to expose them to stressors from which they cannot withdraw. After issuance of an information flyer translated into various languages in 2019, there was no further increase in violations of the German Animal Welfare Act; in particular, fewer puppies and young dogs were found during controls.

• Dokumententyp: Artikel (LMU)
• Organisationseinheit (Fakultäten): 08 Tiermedizin > Veterinärwissenschaftliches Department > Lehrstuhl für Tierschutz, Verhaltenskunde, Tierhygiene und Tierhaltung
• DFG-Fachsystematik der Wissenschaftsbereiche: Lebenswissenschaften
• DFG: Gefördert durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - 491502892