What countries do you not see any animal cruelty or stray dogs/cats etc?

[Havenocluewheretogo]

One thing that has ruined many a holiday for me is seeing strays and/or animal cruelty. I wish I wasn't as sensitive to it but there we are. We've been to the US a lot which isn't usually a problem but in many Mediterranean destinations we've had this problem and I end up upset, feeding them, worrying about them, trying to sort a rescue space when finding them injured. I've pretty much ruled out Greece, Morocco, etc. Thinking of Japan this year which I assume won't be a problem regarding this. Any other ideas? Please don't go into any detail of anything you've seen which was upsetting as I can't even read about it :😢( Thanks

Iceland was fine, as I suspect are many of the Scandinavian countries. Netherlands, Germany and Poland will also be good.

I suggest you avoid the Balkan countries - Greece, Albania, Turkey and the former Yugoslavia countries.

I understand entirely what you mean, OP - I find the Balkans difficult for this exact reason. Obviously there is animal cruelty everywhere, but in highly developed countries it is much less obvious and there aren't lots of stray underfed animals on the streets.

What sort of holiday are you looking for?

Any Northern European country is fine, didn’t see any in the nordics for instance

Didn’t see any in Australia. Belgium Sweden

Animals are seen as either a commodity, a nuisance or a threat by most people in the world. The UK is one of the better countries for animal welfare in general.

There are stray feral cats living in Japan, particularly on the smaller islands, however the locals do feed them as best they can.

What about Scandinavia? They don't strike me as the sort to ill-treat animals.

Not the UK then. Or perhaps the RSPCA use foreign footage in their adverts.

Japan will only be OK if you limit your empathy to a society's treatment of furry mammals like cats. Their practices around whaling, farming of octopuses and practices around eating live animals are all pretty barbaric. They cut the fins off sharks whilst the poor animals are alive and just throw them back in the water. Make sure you know what you're eating in a restaurant because there's every chance you'll be served whale. When mother whales are separated from their calves they never ever recover, it's an awful practice hunting these beautiful creatures.

If you genuinely don't want to see sad animals or partake in anything cruel, Northern Europe. Ireland, Scandinavia, Canada. South Africa is pretty decent. The Maldives. Australia.

I realise we're not perfect, sadly. But it is far more obvious in some countries.

Iceland still do whaling!

Perhaps we only care about animal cruelty when it comes to kittens and puppies but whaling gets me more upset than any of those things as it's so wrong and unnecessary.

Switzerland.

@Havenocluewheretogo
I think what you are asking for is suggestions to places where animals are not a visible presence? Is that correct?
Stay away from southern European Mediterranean towns, especially coastal, and rural countryside communities in general because the presence of animals.
I imagine, due to climate and culture that Northern European countries don’t have many stray animals even on the coast. What do you want to do on holiday? It depends on what else you are looking for?

Denmark? Didn’t see any animals at all really bar a few goats

The Italian lakes don’t have stray animals for instance.

All of Scandinavia should be ok. Also Switzerland.

I would avoid the Caribbean.

Controversial possibly, but in Vietnam there were very very few stray dogs and cats. They all seemed cared for and healthy. The cows we saw, pigs, etc were all in fab condition. I was pleasantly surprised. No strays wandering around when we ate. Might have been lucky, but it felt positive. I do know the Vietnamese still eat a wide variety of animals, but animal welfare seemed high.

I can’t abide seeing donkeys and horses used for tourists and looking sad and didn’t encounter any.

Skiathos is pretty good compared to many places i have visited., there are loads of stray cats but they are generally embraced and cared for. There is a cat charity that is very active.

I didn't see any stray dogs but there is a dog shelter who again are very proactive

I would be wary of recommending Vietnam. I saw some instances of cruelty towards dogs and I suspect cats are eliminated as vermin

I loved the collective responsibility for stray cats and dogs (not many dogs) in Madeira. People fed them and built shelters for them.

Do not go to India! I had a very strong emotional response to the street dogs...who were actually all healthy where we were but the little calf born on the road was too much.....

This. Japan is awful for live animals being eaten. Absolutely horrendous.

Ok Japan is out then, I wasn’t aware of the eating live animals and other stuff 😩 the problem is sometimes googling this stuff is dangerous as then you’re sent information and images 😢

Actually I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Turkey - we were there last Summer and whilst there were lots of stray cats and some dogs they were very well looked after by the locals. Every business had their "own" cat or two who were fed and petted by the staff.

Turkey is a cat loving nation, in Istanbul they are treated like VIP’s.

Turkey have been rounding up stray dogs and shooting them