In 2018, county administrative boards received a total of just over 14,500 notifications of suspected animal neglect, compared with about 13,600 notifications in 2017. This shows a compilation made by SVT News.

Last summer, the county administrative board took over some information from the police regarding, among other things, the care of animals, and in connection with this the cases to the authority have increased.

Lack of care

This year also looks to be an increase, almost 8,000 applications have already been received by the county administrative boards in the country. Among other things, because of the new law, Maja, who arrived in the spring, came after a case with a stricken cat. The law means that health care professionals can now report if they suspect that animals are being neglected.

Most notifications are about pets.

- It is mainly about deficiencies in the care, that you cannot keep clean of your animals or that you are not able to take them to the veterinarian when they need help. In many cases, things have gone quite a long way and the animals have been in poor condition, says Ulrike Segerström, animal welfare manager at the County Administrative Board of Södermanland County.

Important with the right information

Sometimes cases are reported unnecessarily, which makes it difficult for animal welfare officers to prioritize which cases they should go out and check.

- Sometimes it is the case that the notification is about being unhappy with a person or angry at a neighbor and then you take it out by notifying the animal husbandry. Or you dare not, and we have full understanding that you dare not talk to the one who has the animals, says Ulrike Segerström.

In the clip above you will find out what to think about when you report suspected animal neglect.