A survey on the presence and work of Animal Affairs Bureaux in Italy

In the last years, due to an increased awareness on animal welfare, some bureaux dealing with animal protection, especially protection of dogs and cats (Animal Affairs Bureaux=AAB), have been created on the Italian territory. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence and work of AAB in Italy. In 2011, a 16-item questionnaire was sent to all the Italian Animal Affairs Bureaux that could be tracked on the web. Overall, a shortage of AAB was observed (n=68). The first AAB was created in 1992. The distribution was uneven, with 34 centers in Lombardy, 7 in Tuscany, and 5 on 20 Regions without any AAB. Thirty-one questionnaires were returned. Among respondents, the staff (1 to 8 people per AAB, 88 in total) had not attended any preparatory courses; and only 22.6% of people working in a AAB had previous experience or training in the field. The tasks mainly performed by AAB were: providing information to public audience regarding animal protection and management (96.7%); petitions for animal mistreatments (87.0%); census of free-ranging cats living in the colonies recognised by the municipality (74.1%); acceptance or rejection of the relinquishment or transfer of owned dogs (67.7%); capture and reintroduction of cats belonging to recognised colonies (67.7%). In many of the districts, dog shelters were not present (38.7% for short permanence shelters and 58.1% for long permanence shelters), although mandatory by law. The vast majority of districts (83.8%) had created areas in which owned dogs can be left off-leash and socialize with other dogs. However, only 40.0% of districts along the coast had beaches equipped for dogs (8 in Tuscany and 6 in Emilia-Romagna). Most districts (74.2%) fulfilled their own regulations concerning animal protection. In conclusion, AAB play an important role in urban anthrozoology. However, their staff, spread, and facilities should be largely implemented in Italy.