The Dutch agriculture minister said on Friday he was considering a ban on “puppy yoga”, a trendy practice of involving puppies in practices, saying it was against animal welfare.
Puppy yoga has been a huge success since it was introduced in the Netherlands a few months ago, especially in Amsterdam. Agriculture Minister Piet Adema said he was opposed to the practice, saying puppies were often awakened from sleep to be used in these sessions and that many animals exhibited behavior indicative of stress.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate. Puppies need to sleep. They are at a very early stage of their development,” Piet Adema told the national news agency ANP after a ministerial meeting. “You have to compare them to babies. You can’t carry a baby around all day and make him do all sorts of things. Babies need sleep. This is how they develop,” underlined the minister. Puppy yoga “is useless and has no meaning. We must put an end to it,” he added.
According to the minister, the Dutch Consumer Product Control Agency (NVWA), which is also responsible for animal welfare, carried out an investigation into this new fashionable activity and judged that “not enough was being left place for the puppies’ needs. The minister said he wanted a complete ban on puppy yoga and also a ban on the use of other young animals such as kittens.
Meanwhile, puppy yoga sessions can be booked in Amsterdam for around 45 euros, according to different websites.
