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Thursday, August 27, 2020

Animal Rights Versus Civil Rights

     On August 18, 2020, German Minister of Food and Agriculture Julia Klockner proposed an animal welfare ordinance that has some pet owners barking mad: a mandate to exercise one's dog twice a day.

     The ordinance would require that dogs be "permitted to exercise outside of a kennel at least twice a day for a total of at least one hour," according to the ministry. "This is to ensure that dogs are given sufficient exercise and contact with environmental stimuli."

     "Pets are not cuddly toys--their needs must be taken into account," Klockner said. The ministry suggested the exercise might take the form of a walk, or letting the dog run around outside.

     The ordinance has stirred much discussion in the German press. "Two hours of walking will soon be mandatory?" asks one headline. "Is the paternalism going too far?" demands another.

     "I don't believe in regulation!" golden retriever owner Helge Melzer told the tabloid Bild. "Every dog is different, has a different age, different diseases, and we have different climates. With the hot temperatures of the last few days, you shouldn't let your dog out for longer."

Laurel Wamsley, "German's Proposed Dog Walking Law Stirs Consternation Among Pet Owners," NPR, August 20, 2020

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