8 Animal Friendly Countries

When I first moved to Manhattan, I was amazed at all the places that people brought their dogs. Of course there are pet-friendly restaurants around, but I’ve seen pets on the subway, in drug stores … I’ve even seen a dog in the movie theater.

New York City’s not the only place that people love their pets. Throughout the U.S. you’ll find pet owners taking vacations with their dogs, splurging on extravagant fashion for them and doing everything in their power to pamper them.

That got us thinking: Where else in the world are pets, or animals in general, treated like royalty?

Here’s what we found.

Austria

When it comes to overall animal rights, you’d be hard pressed to find a country with stronger anti-cruelty laws than Austria. For starters, it’s illegal in Austria for pet stores to sell puppies and kittens, or for circuses to use lions and tigers. People are also banned from cropping their dogs’ ears and tails, or from restraining their dogs with chains, choke collars or invisible electric fences.

The Netherlands

If you’re a hard-core animal lover, you might consider heading over to the pet-friendly Netherlands with your furry friends. In fact, vegetarians are even given discounted health insurance rates here.

Canada

While only 59% of Canadian households reported having at least one dog or cat as of 2009, with its wide-open spaces and acres upon acres of land, Canada is actually a great place to own a pet, especially an active one. One of the best things about moving to Canada with your pet from another country is that Fluffy won’t have to go into quarantine during the process. (Of course you’d have to check the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s list to be sure your pet is up-to-date on all of the required vaccinations for entry to the country.)

Italy

If you’re a goldfish, it doesn’t get better than living in Italy, where it’s illegal for goldfish to be kept in glass bowls. Additionally, amusement parks are forbidden from giving customers goldfish, chickens and rabbits as prizes, and social species of captive birds must be purchased in pairs.

England and Wales

The passage of The Animal Welfare Act in England and Wales in 2006 provided a much-needed update from the Protection of Animals Act in 1911. It introduced legislation for pet owners, giving them legal duty of care to meet the five welfare needs of their pets (somewhere suitable to live, a proper diet, the ability to express normal behavior, the ability to be housed with or apart from other animals and protection from, and treatment of, illness and injury).

Denmark

The Danish created their Danish Centre for Animal Welfare specifically for the purpose of contributing to the improvement of animal welfare in Denmark. We think the animals there definitely approve.

Bhutan

In Bhutan, The Royal Society for the Protection and Care of Animals was established to help alleviate animal maltreatment. According to their site, “The RSPCA will inculcate in all Bhutanese citizens a sense of moral responsibility for the proper care and humane treatment of any and all animals, through increasing awareness on the plight of animals in Bhutan and education on proper animal care by way of demonstration and information dissemination.”