TerralogNEWS101
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becomingconsciousof their responsibilities
towards animals as fellow-creatures.
Involvement with animals teaches children
social responsibility and concern for other
needs than their own, and adults too cease
to be self-centered and become aware of
the need for responsible treatment of
Nature.
Numerous studies have shown that pet-
owners
lead
healthier
lives,
that
involvement with animal friends can
alleviatesleepdisturbances,depression,and
headaches, as well as heart and circulatory
diseases. Pedagogues, human doctors, and
psychologists use pets as aids in, inter alia,
prisons, homes for the elderly, and
psychiatricunits.The fact thatunfortunately
humansareoccasionallycaughtmistreating
animalsdoesn’t inanyway justify the lossof
the numerous positive effects of the
cohabitation of animals and humans
through toostringent legislation.
More successful thannew legislationwould
be the education of pet owners regarding
thecorrectcareof theiranimals,undertaken
by thepet trade,breederorganizations,and
veterinarians. Thus, for example, the ZZF
operates an online veterinary practice,
formulates standards of quality for its
members, and provides information on
suitable typesofpetsand inappropriatepet
products.
Inaddition theZZF fears that abanonpets
would simply drive the pet trade and the
keeping of pets underground, where they
couldno longerbe regulated.
The current animal welfare legislation,
which dates from18th May 2006 and was
last amended on 9th December 2010,
prescribesthatapetshouldbefed,cared for,
and housed in line with its species,
requirements, and behavior, that its
opportunity for the movement natural to
the species should not be so limited as to
cause itpainoravoidablesufferingorharm,
and that the owner must have the
knowledge and ability required to provide
suitable food, care, and appropriate
accommodation. Pet owners are already
liabletopunishment iftheybreakthis law.In
addition, theMinistry for Food, Agriculture,
and Consumer Protection has a remit to
regulatewhat requirementspetownersare
obliged to fulfill in the case of individual
species, and veterinary officials can refer to
thesewhenenforcinganimalwelfare law.
napressreleaseonWorldAnimalWelfare
Day in 2011 the Deutsche Tier-
schutzbund (DTB, German Animal Welfare
Federation) demanded a new animal
protection law and criticized inappropriate
maintenance in living-rooms and front
gardens. The Zentralverband Zoologischer
Fachbetriebe e.V. (ZZF,National Association
ofZoologicalBusinesses) likewiseadvocates
responsible treatment of domestic animals,
but ZZF President Norbert Holthenrich
criticized thedemandby theDTB for aban
onpets:
For theDTB to state in itspress release that
the keeping of ornamental birds,
ornamental fishes,and reptiles is reason for
Draconiananimalprotection legislation,fails
to take into account either the significance
of such a law or the reality of millions of
successful human-animal relationships. It is
unreasonableandan insulttothemillionsof
animal lovers in Germany who treat their
pets responsibly, as well as tomembers of
theDTB itself. Inessence, theDTB’sdemand
for a ban on exotic and demanding pets
wouldmean a ban on almost all domestic
pets.
Overall, pets are kept by something more
thanathirdofallGermanhouseholds.There
are around 520 types of domestic pets,
almostwithoutexceptionexotic. Theexotic
species include Guinea pigs, cats, and
budgerigars, all three of which are non-
native. Nowadays practically all domestic
pet species arebeingbred successfully,and
many species are being saved from
extinction thereby. Moreover all pets are
demanding, above all dogs and cats.Aban
onkeepingpetswouldcausehugedamage
to society. The keeping of various types of
pets demonstrably contributes to people
German animal protection organization wishes to ban pets / All pets are
demanding and the vast majority are non-native / ZZF speaks out on the
animalwelfareaspectofkeepingpets
Demand forabanonkeepingpets ignores the
benefitsof thehuman-animal relationship
byZentralverbandZoologischer FachbetriebeDeutschlands e.V. (ZZF)
Tierschutz
I
