When you have a dog, you want to do everything possible to make sure they live long, healthy lives, and that includes plenty of exercise.
Still, sometimes life gets in the way and that long, winding walk through the park may become a quick circling of the block.
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A new German law being brought to the table may make those “bare minimum” walkies illegal, BBC reported .
The “Dogs Act” was introduced by the country’s Agriculture Minister, Julia Klöckner.
“Pets are not cuddly toys, their needs have to be taken into account,” she said.
The law also includes rules to fight against animal isolation and puppy mill-style breeding.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate a translated copy of the actual legislation and reporting of its exact requirements are inconsistent.
According to the BBC article , the law states that owners must walk their dogs twice per day, for an hour in total.
However, The Guardian reported that the two walks must be at least an hour each .
Ether way, even members of Klöckner’s own party have complained that the law is too much.
Especially right now, when Germany is in the midst of a heatwave, dog owners have noted that it isn’t healthy for anyone to be out in the heat that long.
Others wondered how it could possibly be enforced when 19 percent of German households have dogs or if exceptions could be made.
For example, one owner, Walther Schweiz, explained that his 14-year-old dog has cancer and isn’t strong enough for long walks anymore.
“They should trust people to get on with their own lives. They’ll be telling cat owners how often they need to change their litter trays next,” he said.
Other rules included in the law would prevent dogs being chained up for long periods of time, mandate that dogs couldn’t be left alone all day (though the definition of “all day” is unclear), and limit breeders to only three litters at a time.
h/t: BBC , The Guardian
