{"id":912,"date":"2018-06-10T16:25:40","date_gmt":"2018-06-10T23:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nebulous-oyster.flywheelsites.com\/blog\/2011\/09\/norwegians-believe-spaying-or-neutering-a-dog-is-cruel\/"},"modified":"2023-02-22T11:26:00","modified_gmt":"2023-02-22T19:26:00","slug":"norwegians-believe-spaying-or-neutering-a-dog-is-cruel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jennifermargulis.net\/norwegians-believe-spaying-or-neutering-a-dog-is-cruel\/","title":{"rendered":"Norwegians believe spaying or neutering a dog is cruel"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Norwegians

Norwegians believe it is cruel to spay or neuter dogs. Yet they do not have any problems with unwanted pets…<\/p><\/div>\n

“You can see he’s still got his balls,” Rolf said in his singsong way as we walked the two and a half miles around Songsvann, a wooded lake on the west side of Oslo.<\/p>\n

Rolf was talking about Ennis, his Airedale terrier who was tearing around off lead.<\/p>\n

“Why don’t you neuter him?” I asked with some astonishment.<\/p>\n

“In Norway we don’t do that,” Rolf explained. “We also don’t clip their ears or cut their tails. We believe it’s cruelty to animals.”<\/p>\n

“But don’t you have a terrible problem with feral and unwanted dogs then?”<\/p>\n

“No. Why should we?” Rolf seemed genuinely perplexed.<\/p>\n

Each dog owner, he explained, is responsible for his own dog. If a male dog is very aggressive with other dogs or bites a human then his owner can write a detailed letter to the vet requesting he be neutered. But in the absence of a good medical or social reason you would be hard put to find a vet in Norway who would agree to perform what they believe is a cruel and painful surgery. Even a letter of explanation does not guarantee that the vet will agree to the operation.<\/p>\n

I thought of a recently spayed bitch licking and licking her swollen privates, whimpering in pain, unable to understand what had happened to her or why.<\/p>\n

\"Norwegians

Norwegians believe spaying or neutering dogs is cruel. Rolf enjoying a rest with his intact Airedale terrier, Ennis. Photo by Jennifer Margulis.<\/p><\/div>\n

I’ve never questioned the propaganda<\/a> put out by every animal shelter in America: that it’s imperative to neuter one’s pets. But Rolf’s words made sense. If every dog owner is responsible and careful, is there really a good reason to subject a dog to a painful operation on his genitalia? Maybe spaying or neutering a dog really is cruel?<\/p>\n

That night back at Rolf and Morten’s antique-filled spiral-staircased home we talked about it again. Rolf admitted it was not as hard to get a cat spayed but reiterated that vets in Norway are reluctant to “fix” dogs, even though declining to perform the operation means a loss of revenue for them.<\/p>\n

“You know Jenny,” Rolf began (the last time I saw him I was nine years old so he still calls me by my childhood<\/a> nickname), “I’ve traveled all over the world: to Morocco and Tunisia, to every country in Scandinavia, most of Europe, to the United States several times, and to Peru. I’ve noticed there’s a direct connection between countries where people treat animals humanely and with kindness and countries that have good human rights, especially for women.”<\/p>\n

The Muslim countries are the worst, Rolf went on.<\/p>\n

I thought of how drivers swerve to hit stray dogs in Niger<\/a>, and how donkeys are beaten in public. How I used to see one man who rode his horse bareback in traffic in Niamey holding the reins so tightly the sides of his horse’s mouth would bleed.<\/p>\n

Norwegians pride themselves on having an egalitarian, educated society.<\/p>\n

Norway has among the highest breastfeeding<\/a> rates of any industrialized country, generous paid parental leave (for fathers as well as mothers), and very low infant and maternal mortality rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 2010 Save the Children voted Norway the BEST country in the world to be a mother. By contrast in the same report the United States ranked close to last among industrialized nations.<\/p>\n

And, apparently, they treat their animal companions with great kindness. Which means not spaying or neutering unless it’s absolutely necessary.<\/p>\n

American consider not spaying or neutering cruel. But there’s clearly another way to think of it. Could you imagine a time when every American dog owner was responsible? So we would not have to submit people’s best friend to a painful operation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Published: September 21, 2011
\nLast update: February 22, 2023<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“You can see he’s still got his balls,” Rolf said in his singsong way as we walked the two and a half miles around Songsvann, a wooded lake on the west side of Oslo. Rolf was talking about Ennis, his Airedale terrier who was tearing around off lead. “Why don’t you neuter him?” I asked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8585,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[8347,104],"tags":[167,169,170],"yoast_head":"\nNorwegians Believe Spaying or Neutering a Dog is Cruel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Norwegians believe spaying or neutering a dog is cruel. Yet they do not have any problems with unwanted pets... 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