[Housing of dogs and cats in shelters and kennels in Switzerland]

Abstract

The study deals with the situation regarding housing of dogs and cats in Swiss shelters and kennels. In shelters, dogs were mainly held inside a cubicle with a small outside yard. In kennels, housing of dogs took place mainly in inside rooms. Usually two or three dogs were kept together. Cats were held in rooms, with or without outside yards, mainly in groups; no establishment preferred exclusively the housing in cubicles. Shelters received on average 183 dogs and 262 cats each year. Among them, about a third were lost animals while the remaining ones were relinquished. The study highlights some possibilities for improvements and the great diversity of the establishments regarding their size, infrastructure, housing conditions and aims.