Samenvatting

Cruelty to and neglect of animals are criminal offences. In the criminal prosecution of perpetrators of cruelty to and neglect of animals, the court may impose an injunction on the offenders to keep animals for a specific period of time. In the Netherlands, this so-called ban on keeping animals (‘houdverbod’) can be imposed by the criminal court in the form of a special condition imposed in combination with a suspended sentence. In this article we present the results of a study into the frequency with which and the manner in which the ban on keeping animals is applied nationwide in the Netherlands. The study provides insights into the prerequisites for adequate application of the ban on keeping animals. In practice, the implementation of the ban on keeping animals in its current form faces some problems. The question is how the effectiveness of the ban on keeping animals may be improved and whether there are alternative ways to apply the ban on keeping animals that may serve the purpose better. The issue of the most effective form in which to implement a ban on keeping animals – also in the longer term – is a thorny one.