HEAVEN FOR DOGS: THESE ARE THE 10 MOST DOG-FRIENDLY COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD – FROM SWEDEN TO NEW ZEALAND
Source: The Scotsman (Extract)
Posted: November 6, 2022
Dogs are said to be man’s best friend, but many countries have a dubious track record when it comes to animal rights, meaning that they are less than friendly when it comes to the four-legged members of society.
Online insurance comparison site The Swiftest have taken a deep-dive into how pups are treated around the globe, using a range of metrics to find where in the world it’s best to be a dog.
From the number of dog-friendly hotels and vets, to the Animal Protection Index rating and animal rights legislation, the numbers have been crunched to come up with a Dog-Friendly Country Index for 2022.
Here are the top 10 best countries in the world to be a dog.
1. Italy
Italy is the best place in the world for dogs – rating particularly highly for the large number of dog-friendly hotels.
2. France
Taking the bronze medal for dog friendliness, France scores highly across the board.
3. New Zealand
New Zealand just misses out on top spot, with the most vets per million population of anywhere in the world.
4. UK
The UK with its nation of dog lovers takes 4th spot. Like all the countries that made the top 10, the UK has animal rights laws.
5. Germany
Germany comes one place below the UK, mainly due to the latter’s superior Animal Protection Index Rating.
6. Sweden
Meanwhile Sweden would have been much higher up in the list were it not for its comparatively low number of vets – just 25.9 per million population.
7. Australia
Like their neighbours in New Zealand, Australia has a very high number of vets – 91.3 per million population.
8. Spain
Spain has uniformly good animal rights ratings, including being one of the countries that officially recognises animal sentience.
9. Austria
With places like this to take the dog for a walk it’s maybe no surprise that Austria makes the top ten.
10. Poland
Just squeezing into the top 10, Poland has marks dedicated due to the relative prevalence of rabies in the country.
