This film addresses the sad fate of working dogs in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1900s.
Around 1900, 80,000 dogs were out every day to assist their owners. The dogs walked in front of or under the cart. They were often poorly cared for and had to pull far too heavy loads. At the time, the government saw nothing in the ban on the use of the dog as pulling power, but eventually did set conditions for the cart and the dog. A group of people took the fate of the animals very seriously and moved into the country to alert owners of draft dogs to these conditions. They founded the “Anti Trekhonden Bond” (Society)
in 1912.
The work of the directors of the Bond was successful. The owners realized that it was important to take good care of their animals. It also became clear that people were forced to work with a dog because they did not have sufficient financial means to purchase and care for a horse or donkey. That changed when the ‘bakfiets’ (cargo bike) was introduced in the Netherlands in 1937. Many dogs were relieved of their pulling obligations. The union tried to convince as many merchants as possible to switch to a ‘bakfiets’. If the good will was there, but the money was lacking, the Bond purchased a cargo bike for the dog cart owner.
The number of dogs used as pulling power dropped to about 11,000 dogs in the late 1930s. There was more and more discussion and disapproval of the dog cart practice.
However, it took quite some time before a general ban was introduced in the Netherlands. On January 1, 1962, the year in which the “Anti Trekhonden Bond” existed for 50 years, the Dutch Animal Protection Act came into force, with the legal prohibition on the use of the dog as pulling power.
The original B&W film has been restored, enhanced and colorized with contemporary Artificial Intelligence video software.
Source: Beeld En Geluid
Music: Jon Blork a.o.
