Straßentiere im AuslandHow to deal with stray dogs and cats on vacation
Several million dogs and cats live on the streets in southern and eastern Europe. They often suffer from infectious diseases - caused by various parasites, but also bacteria, viruses and fungi. Some of the street animals have no regular access to food and drinking water, meaning that many are malnourished and undernourished. Given the sad situation, tourists are often involuntarily confronted with the issue of animal welfare.
Street dogs and cats have it anything but easy: they seek shelter in empty houses, parks or bushes and have to feed on garbage or beg people for food. This is how the street animals try to survive. Many tourists feel sorry for the animals and wonder how they can help them. We show you how you can provide meaningful help.
Why are there so many stray dogs and cats abroad?
- Lack of education, laws & regulations
The high number of stray dogs and cats abroad can be attributed to the fact that there is no large animal shelter network and existing animal welfare laws are not monitored. The behavior of the population also plays a decisive role. Many owners do not have their dogs and cats neutered because they are unaware of the benefits of population control, have preconceptions about the procedure or cannot afford it. Most privately owned dogs and cats are also allowed to roam free all day and can therefore continue to breed with ownerless animals. - Too many puppies
Bitches usually have puppies several times in their lives, for which no new owners are usually found. The sad reality is that pet owners often abandon the mother including the puppies and only keep one puppy. This is usually a male animal, as it cannot bear offspring itself and people in rural areas assume that it can protect them better. - Early sexual maturity of cats
Free-roaming cats are also descended from animals from private households. Female cats are sexually mature at the age of six months and come into heat several times a year. If the animals mate during this phase, the cat gives birth to an average of four to six kittens after 63 to 66 days. Although kittens born on the street have little chance of survival, cat populations continue to grow as long as humans do not intervene. Assuming a cat has two litters per year and three kittens survive per litter, theoretically around 200 million offspring can be born from an unneutered cat after ten years.
Did you know that?
Here in Germany, too, millions of street cats fight for survival every day. Many people in Germany are unaware that the animals suffer in secret due to their lack of socialization with humans and the resulting shyness.
How should I behave towards stray animals abroad?
As many animals that have a home are also simply running around freely, it is often impossible to distinguish them from street animals. In urban areas, street dogs and cats are often very trusting towards tourists as they are fed by restaurant guests or local residents, for example, and are used to people. In general, you should not corner animals or touch them suddenly.
FAQs - Street animals on vacation
If you understand the body language of dogs and cats and the animal approaches you in a friendly manner, you can pet it. However, please note that many street animals are sick due to their poor living conditions. They are often infested with various parasites such as fleas or worms, which are not necessarily visible to the animals. Some can also be transmitted to humans through petting, such as the sarcoptes mite, which causes scabies, or giardia cysts. This does not mean that you should generally avoid contact with dogs and cats abroad. However, you should be aware that the animals may have such parasites.
Wash and disinfect your hands after petting and observe whether you notice any symptoms. If an animal behaves conspicuously and there is a risk of it biting you, you and especially your children should keep your distance. Dog and cat bites can be extremely dangerous (not only in the case of rabies). It is best to visit your family doctor several months before you travel to build up or refresh your vaccinations if necessary.
Street dogs and cats are often malnourished and in poor health. They feed on waste they find on the streets or on food they get from people. Unfortunately, feeding the animals only during your own vacation is not a long-term solution, even with good intentions, as they get used to it - once the vacation season is over, they are left without food. Ideally, you should contact a reputable local animal welfare organization before your trip and only feed the animals after consultation or if you can be sure that they will continue to be cared for. Ask whether you can donate food to the organization or take on a food sponsorship.
If you find a puppy, you should contact one of the local animal welfare organizations. They have experience in dealing with stray animals and can help find solutions. If you see an animal with signs of illness or injuries while on vacation, you can find an animal welfare organization nearby and inform the animal welfare workers that the animal needs help.
If the animal is obviously ill, vacationers can also take it to the nearest veterinary practice. If it is a puppy, first wait and see if there are any other puppies in the litter so that you can take all the animals with you if necessary. Ideally, you should find out the contacts before you go on vacation so that you have them to hand in an emergency.
Animals should only be imported to Germany in exceptional cases - you must be well informed about the animal's health and behavior beforehand. If you are considering giving an animal from another country a home, there are a few things to bear in mind. You can find all the important background information in our position paper.
No, because by buying them you are not helping the animals, but only those who want to make a lucrative business.
In some countries, puppies and other animals are offered for sale at markets. The stallholders often appeal to your compassion. In doing so, they support the dubious practices of criminals who are cruel to animals and encourage them to continue breeding animals and meeting the demand for cute baby animals. Importing such animals to Germany is irresponsible from the point of view of infectious diseases and may even be illegal under the law. It is better to support local animal welfare organizations.
In our view, the concept of "catch, neuter and release" is the best solution for the animals - both for street dogs and street cats.
Some countries kill street animals to reduce their numbers. This is cruel and completely pointless because this measure has no effect. Every habitat provides a certain number of animals with shelter, water and food. When animals are killed, the remaining animals reproduce or new animals arrive from other areas.
The "catch, neuter and release" concept involves treating sick animals medically as far as possible, usually vaccinating them before neutering and giving them anti-parasite medication, for example. After the operation, the animals should be given sufficient time to recover in human care and then released back into their usual habitat. This is the only way to reduce the number of stray animals in the long term and in line with animal welfare standards. In some countries, for example, ear tags on dogs or a clipped ear tip on cats indicate that they have been neutered. This tells you that animal welfare organizations are active in this area.
How can I help stray animals abroad?
- Support our work
We focus on "helping people to help themselves" and support animal welfare organizations abroad with educational work and financially, for example with castration campaigns. We are also active ourselves with our own projects such as the animal welfare center in Odessa in the Ukraine and in Romania . - Cover local costs
You can cover the costs of veterinary treatment or castration of animals. - Support animal welfare organizations abroad
You can, for example, sponsor an animal. The best way to do this is to contact our cooperative member associations that are active in your vacation destination. You can also ask them whether food and donations in kind are needed or whether you can lend a hand on site and help with cleaning or building, for example.
