pets
About 170,000 dogs and cats were registered in Flanders last year. That is less than in previous years. The corona peak now seems to be officially behind us.
In 2023, 85,382 dogs and 84,075 cats were registered in Flanders. That is less than in 2022, when there were more than 97,000 dogs and more than 85,00 cats, and also a lot less than during the corona crisis. In 2021, 97,125 cats and 112,961 dogs were registered. Then there was a clear peak that now seems to have passed.
Last year we also registered fewer four-legged friends than in the period before corona. Minister of Animal Welfare Ben Weyts (N-VA) does not see an unambiguous explanation for this. “In any case, we encourage Flemish people to think very carefully before bringing an animal into their home,” he says. “It is an important and long commitment and you must be 100 percent ready to invest the necessary energy and money. Animals are not a consumer product that should be used as massively and as lavishly as possible.”
Street dog
The ‘common street dog’ is registered most often, just like in other years. Max and Luna remain the most popular dog names. Among cats, the European Shorthair is most often brought into the home and Simba and Nala are still the most popular names.
Since 1998, there has been an identification and registration obligation for dogs and since 2017 also for cats. Animals that are traded must be registered in the DogID or CatID databases. That has many advantages. For example, cats and dogs can easily be brought home if they get lost. The databases also provide them with an insight into certain developments.
