HANDLING OF STRAY DOGS IN THE POLISH LANDS FROM THE 19TH TO THE 21ST CENTURY WITH CONSIDE RATION OF IRREGULARITIES IN THIS AREA

Domestic animal homelessness is a long-known and ever-present phenomenon in Poland. Left unattended, animals pose a threat to people, their farms, public order and epidemiological safety. “The problem” was attempted to solve as early as the 19th century. Although the main purpose behind catching stray dogs was the need to remove them from public space, attention was drawn already in distant times to issues related to improper and brutal handling during the catching, transporting, keep- ing and killing of unwanted pets. Nowadays, animals entering shelters can no longer be killed, but the problem of their homelessness is still present and has not been effectively resolved over the years. Changes in the political system and regulations have not guaranteed that they are properly protected and cared for in shelters, as there are still cases of inhumane treatment of animals in these facilities. There have also been no effective solutions to significantly reduce the scale of the phenomenon of dog abandonment in Poland. The lack of an obligation to sterilize mixed-breed individuals means that there are a lot of them, so that any person can come into possession of a dog without any difficulty, which, combined with the lack of mandatory, permanent and enabling owner identification marking, means that there are still tens of thousands of stray dogs in Poland, and responsibility for their abandonment can easily be avoided. The aim of the study is to showcase changes in the treatment of stray animals that occured during the last century.