For the first time ever, the Dutch authority on food and consumer product safety NVWA issued a warning to a breeder of Bambino Sphynx cats. These 'designer cats', which have no fur and short legs, often have serious health problems. The NVWA expects that more warnings will follow, RTL Nieuws reports.
The company that was reprimanded was Cattery in Gendt, Gelderland. The owner says she has now had her cats sterilized, according to the broadcaster.
The operator of carnival show Muizenstad - a miniature city filled with living mice - decided to cancel further appearances this year. The attraction was at the Tilburg fair last week. On Thursday animal activist Karen Soeters posted a video recorded in the the attraction on Wednesday, showing the mice in a tent that was 34 degrees Celsius at the time.
The National Animal Protection Inspectorate took 44 dogs from a filthy home in Noord-Holland. The resident was not able to take good care of the animals, according to the animal welfare organization. The dogs were very neglected and the house was covered in urine and dog poop, ANP reports.
The animals had inflamed ears, bad teeth, and coats with lots of tangles. Some of them were also underweight. They were taken to a shelter to receive the necessary care.
Around a hundred activists occupied a pig farm in Boxtel on Monday in a protest meant to draw attention to animal suffering in the Netherlands. A few dozen farmers also gathered for a counter protest. The police eventually put an end to the action. Dozens of protesters were arrested, NU.nl reports.
The number of so-called mega-stables in the Netherlands increased from 456 in 2010 to 801 in 2017, an increase of 76 percent, animal rights organization Wakker Dier reports based on figures from Wageningen University and Research. A mega-stable is a stable that houses more than 7,500 slaughter pigs, 1,200 breeding pigs, 120,000 laying hens, 250 dairy cows, 2,500 veal calves or 1,500 goats, RTL Nieuws reports.
The Netherlands will ban the use of shock collars on dogs from July next year, Minister Carola Schouten of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality announced. She is also tackling abuses in the breeding of so-called "designer cats", RTL Nieuws and the Telegraaf report.
The shock collar ban applies to individual dog owners as well as qualified dog trainers. Those who still use shock collars after 1 July 2020, will risk a fine of up to 20 thousand euros, or a maximum prison sentence of three years, according to RTL.
Agricultural organization LTO Nederland and the producer organization for pig farmers POV are planning to take action against animal rights organization. They will help farmers in filing charges against wat they call "animal extremism", De Gelderlander reports.
Dog trainers and animal experts are concerned about the University of Amsterdam's plan to create a puppy room in its library where students can cuddle with puppies and get rid of their stress during exam week. The puppies will indeed decrease students' stress, but being cuddled by dozens of students may not be good for the puppies' welfare. The Amsterdam faction of animal party PvdD submitted written questions about this to the city council.
From 2020 all new dogs in the Netherlands must get a passport, Minister Carola Schouten of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality announced on Thursday. The government hopes that this will help in the fight against illegal animal trade. Animal welfare and taking good care of animals is "everyone's moral duty", the Minister wrote in a letter to parliament, NU.nl reports.
The police, with the help of the Koninklijke Marechaussee and bystanders, arrested a 58-year-old drunk driver from Hoogerheide on Sunday night. The man drove several kilometers on his trike, dragging a dog behind it. He hit at least two cars, the police said in a statement on Monday morning.
Large Dutch banks invested billions in the meat industry over the past years, and a large part of that money went to companies where animal welfare is not in order, according to a new report by Eerlijke Bankwijzer. These include companies that sell battery farm chickens, keep their sows locked up in cages, or slaughter animals in controversial ways, RTL Nieuws reports.
The Eerlijke Bankwijzer, or Fair Bank Guide, looks at whether Dutch banks invest their money responsibly. Amnesty International, FNV, Mileudefensie and Oxfam Novib, among others, contribute to it.
The Amsterdam college of mayor and aldermen wants to introduce a permit requirement and stricter rules for all events in the city involving animals. In this way the city wants to keep track on events in which animals are used, as well as make sure that they are properly cared for.
Albert Heijn won animal rights organization Wakker Dier's "liar, liar award" for 2017 with an misleading article about the supermarket chain's serrano ham. An article about the ham in an April issue of Allerhande showed a picture of pigs in a meadow, while the Albert Heijn serrano ham pigs spend their entire lives in a small stable surrounded by their own poop, according to the organization, RTL Nieuws reports.
Dutch food and consumer product safety authority NVWA added codes of another 14 poultry companies to its list of eggs contaminated with toxic insecticide fipronil. Foods that contain contaminated eggs are safe to eat, according to the federation of the Dutch foodstuffs industry FNLI based on its own research, NU.nl reports.
The municipality of Amsterdam sent letters to all businesses renting camels in the city, informing them that making the animals walk through the busy city is contrary to animal welfare, alderman Laurens Ivens said, AD reports.
Ivens was responding to questions from the PvdD about a camel that was recently paraded through the Red Light District for a bachelor party. That ride was stopped by the police because the supervisor had outstanding fines.
Animal party PvdD wants to close zoos as one point in its campaign for the elections in March next year. According to the party, zoos are no longer of this time and should only be a temporary residence for animals, RTL Nieuws reprots.
The party writes that "exhibiting animals" in too small cages is outdated. In this time animals should live in their original habitat. The PvdD also statest aht the old argument of breeding programs at zoos is no longer relevant. According to the paryt, zoos only breed animals because baby animals attract extra visitors.
A majority of the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, supports a free trade agreement between the European Union and Canada (CETA)
According to animal welfare organization WakkerDier, very few restaurants choose for animal friendly chicken. And that has to change. The organization therefore launched a campaign on Sunday in which restaurant visitors can help make menus battery farm chicken free
A massive 85 percent of Dutch are willing to pay more for animal-friendly products and sustainable meat. This puts the Netherlands in the top 3 of EU countries, with only Luxembourg and Sweden scoring higher, according to a survey conducted on behalf of the European Union
Supermarket chains Albert Heijn and Jumbo promised that all their home brand chicken meat and fresh chicken meals will be factory-farm chicken free by the end of this year, animal welfare group Wakker Dier announced. They are the first supermarket chains to take this step.
The Dutch clothing sector is taking up the fight against child labor, poor working conditions and low wages in developing countries such as Bangladesh. On Wednesday the government is closing a textile covenant with three trade associations, two trade unions and five social organizations to address these issues and make sure Dutch consumers can rest assured that their clothing was made responsibly
State Secretary Martijn van Dam of Economic Affairs came up with stricter rules for the ritual slaughter of animals, but stopped short of actually banning it. He announced the new rules, made after agreements with Jewish and Islamic organizations, in a letter to the lower house of parliament on Wednesday
Animal welfare organization Wakker Dier has announced the five nominees for their misleading advertising awards. The nominees are: KFC, Danone, Friberne, Gouda Holland, Melkunie and Duroc D'Olives.
A number of Dutch banks are not fully complying with the commitments they made to improve the sustainability of their investments. Some banks are still investing in nuclear weapons and arms programs.
