Key Findings
A group of 60 veterinarians assessed the well-being of various dog subpopulations, finding that owned dogs had the highest welfare, followed by block dogs, kennel dogs, and finally, stray dogs.
The key to improving overall canine welfare and managing nuisance levels is stabilizing the owned dog population, as a portion of these dogs are often abandoned as strays.
This should be complemented by promoting responsible ownership to reduce roaming among owned dogs and increasing adoptions to convert stray animals into owned pets.
Summary
Italy faces a significant challenge with free-roaming dogs (FRD). The National Law n. 281, enacted in 1991, aims to protect companion animals and prevent stray dogs, strictly regulating euthanasia to only allow it for dogs that are incurably ill or proven dangerous. However, this legislation has resulted in overcrowded kennels and has necessitated discussions about alternative management strategies for FRDs. At the regional level, these strategies include kennelling, promoting adoptions, converting stray dogs into block dogs (sterilized neighborhood FRDs), and controlling the population of owned dogs.
The study titled “Free-roaming dog populations: A cost-benefit model for different management options, applied to Abruzzo, Italy,” focuses on the central Italian provinces of Teramo and Pescara. To address the FRD problem, the authors proposed and evaluated five management strategies: 1) status quo, 2) increasing kennel capacity by 10% annually, 3) tripling adoptions from kennels from 10% to 30% dogs removed by year, 4) doubling the capture of stray dogs (unsterilized, ownerless dogs) from 20% to 40% of stray dogs per year, and 5) stabilizing the growth of owned dog population to 0%. Each tactic would result in different numbers of owned dogs, kennel dogs, block dogs, and stray dogs in the provinces. The researchers aimed to understand how these variations in dog subpopulations would ultimately impact canine welfare, the level of nuisance experienced by humans, and the financial costs involved.
To quantify the welfare of the dogs, the authors incorporated input from 60 local veterinarians. Using the “five freedoms” principle — freedom from pain, physical discomfort, disease, fear, and the ability to express normal behavior — these experts scored the welfare of each dog subpopulation. On a scale of one to five, the veterinarians found that owned dogs had the best welfare (3.5), followed by block dogs (3.1), kennel dogs (2.8), and stray dogs (2.3). Additionally, the researchers used the number of free-roaming dogs per inhabitant as a proxy indicator for the level of nuisance. Financial costs were assessed by calculating the direct monetary expenses associated with each management scenario, including kennel operations, veterinary care, and other related costs. Notably, the cost of converting a stray dog to a kennel dog or block dog was estimated at €375, while the annual maintenance cost of a kennel dog was estimated at €1,000.
By modeling how the canine population changes over a ten-year period under each FRD management strategy, the researchers were able to assess the impacts on canine welfare, nuisance, and financial costs. Factors such as the growth and abandonment of owned dogs (OD), adoptions and deaths in kennels, increases in the block dog (BD) population due to CNVR (catch-neuter-vaccinate-return) efforts, and adoptions of stray dogs were considered.
Results
The researchers found that under the baseline status quo scenario, the number of FRDs would gradually increase, driven by the rise in free-roaming owned dogs and stray dogs, leading to a nearly 40% increase in nuisance levels. Alternatively, increasing kennel capacity by 10% would result in minimal changes to canine welfare and nuisance levels, but it would raise yearly costs by 42%, making it an expensive option with limited benefits. Enhancing adoptions would reduce financial costs by 13%. In contrast, increasing captures and maintaining a stable owned dog population would decrease nuisance levels by 10% and 11%, respectively. Among all measures, stabilizing the owned dog population is the only strategy that reduces the numbers of FRDs, stray dogs, block dogs, nuisance levels, and financial costs compared to the baseline scenario.
Managing the FRD population involves complex decisions with trade-offs between welfare, nuisance, and costs. Due to shelter capacity constraints and financial limitations, increasing the capture of stray dogs would result in more block dogs, which would reduce nuisance levels but serve only as an intermediary step. The authors suggested that actions targeting dog ownership patterns to reduce the number of free-roaming dogs would yield the most favorable outcomes. These actions include reducing the reproductive capacity of the owned dog population, enforcing mandatory dog identification, reducing abandonment, and increasing adoptions. While block dogs may help reduce the stray dog population, promoting adoption is the preferable long-term solution.
Miscellaneous
Data From Study:
Dog Population Management / Modelling / Abruzzo, Italy
Year of Publication:
2013
External Link:
H.R. Høgåsen, C. Er, A. Di Nardo, P. Dalla Villa, Free-roaming dog populations: A cost-benefit model for different management options, applied to Abruzzo, Italy,
Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Volume 112, Issues 3–4, 2013, Pages 401-413, ISSN 0167-5877,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2013.07.010.