Animal abusers should be banned from owning pets, say two political parties

The Netherlands needs better laws and regulations to protect pets from animal abusers, according to right-wing coalition party VVD and left-wing opposition party PvdD. MPs Erik Havekort (VVD) and Frank Wassenberg of the animal party want to ban animal abusers from keeping pets, ban the sale of over-bred animals in the Netherlands, and encourage people to get their cats chipped, De Telegraaf reports.

The Animal Abuse Act states that a person can be banned from keeping animals for several years if convicted of animal abuse. “But we say: in extreme cases, make it a lifelong ban on keeping animals,” Wassenberg said to the newspaper. “There are examples of animal abusers who mistreat dozens of animals and simply do so again after paying a fine. We have to fight those excesses.”

The MPs also want to fight the lively trade in overly-bred animals. The Netherlands already set strict rules for breeding dogs and cats for physical characteristics, like a shorter snout. “But bringing over-bred animals from abroad and trading them here is still allowed. So that must also be curbed,” the parliamentarians said. Belgium already has such a regulation in force, Wassenberg pointed out.

Wassenberg and Havekort also want the government to look into getting cats chipped en masse so that lost animals can be found more easily. “Everyone who has a pet knows how terrible it is when your pet is missing,” Havekort said. They don’t necessarily want to make it mandatory. Some municipalities have an arrangement for people who can’t afford the chips. “Such plans could be a solution,” said Wassenberg.

The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, will debate the Animal Abuse Act later this month.