Animals
Cat favorite: Call for more education about pets
A young cat lies in its enclosure in the Berlin animal shelter. photo
© Monika Skolimowska/dpa
Animal rights activists are bothered by the breeding of supposedly cute cats and dogs with floppy ears, flat noses and the like. For the animals, these “fashion trends” are one thing above all: painful.
According to information from retailers, the cat is still at the top of the popularity list for animal lovers in Germany. In 2021, around 34.7 million pets lived in German households, around 16.7 million of them were cats, as Antje Schreiber from the Central Association of Zoological Specialists (ZZF) told the German Press Agency. The association is currently evaluating the data for 2022: according to the current status, the cat will continue to lead the ranking, closely followed by the dog. This is followed by small mammals such as rabbits, hamsters or guinea pigs.
Advice for future pet owners when purchasing animals will continue to be essential in the future. The pet shop provides information about legal animal husbandry in accordance with the Species Protection and Animal Welfare Act, explained Schreiber. The association warns, for example, against the purchase of torture breeds, as some of them are offered on the Internet.
Examples are characteristics relevant to animal welfare such as hairlessness and lack of scales or dwarfism, short legs or short heads. Cats with large, rounded heads and snub noses, for example, suffer more from misaligned teeth and restricted breathing. “Legally binding lists of breeding forms and individual characteristics that are to be regarded as tormented breeds would provide more clarity,” said the association.
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