The number of times Dutch vets have raised the alarm with the national animal welfare inspectorate LID over severely neglected pets has tripled in the past three years, rising from 100 in 2023 to 321 in 2025.
Reports fell slightly compared with 2024, but the severity of cases is rising sharply, the LID said. Inspectors are now finding emaciated cats and dogs, animals living in heavily soiled homes, and pets that have died because they were never taken to a vet.
“Until recently we mostly saw overlong nails and matted coats, which is relatively mild,” LID inspector Jelko de Ruijter told broadcaster NOS. “Now in the worst cases we see animals receiving no medical care, or dying because they never got any”.
LID head Gabor van der Straten, who took over the role in December, said the inspectorate cannot tackle the problem alone. It needs to work more closely with the food and product safety authority NVWA, the police, vets and councils.
The agency points to two drivers: a wave of impulse pet purchases during the pandemic, and the squeeze on low-income households from post-covid inflation, with vet bills among the steepest cost rises.
Anyone wishing to report animal neglect or abuse can call 144, the national reporting line.
