Animal Police Service in the Netherlands
Dutch police specialized to act in cases of animal abuse.
The Netherlands is a country very aware of animal abuse. They have specialized police to prevent mistreatment and neglect against them. In addition, they have recently opened a dedicated hotline.
This special police group specifically fights against the following crimes:
- Animal cruelty
- Negligence
- Animal pornography
- Poaching
- Incitement to animal aggression towards other animals or people.
Dial 144
All types of animal cruelty can be reported by calling 144. It is also available for cases where an animal is in an emergency situation. Depending on the nature of the call, the services of animal police, animal protection officers or food safety authorities may be required.
Judges may impose fines or jail sentences on those who commit cruelty or neglect against animals.
These specialized police officers receive the same basic training as the common Dutch police officers. From there they receive specific training, which covers:
- Legislation on animal cruelty
- Recognition of suffering in animals
- Procedures in confiscation of animals
- Procedures for reporting a case of animal cruelty.
In all cases, these police officers are selected internally from among the entire police force.
In our country we have the SEPRONA (Nature Protection Service), a group of the Civil Guard specialized in safeguarding our natural environment and, although they often do wonderful tasks in animal welfare issues, there is no police as well planned and specialized as in Holland, for now.
Orthocanis Team
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