[ANIMAUX] “Puppy yoga”: when urban delirium takes precedence over animal welfare

Italy still has a lot to teach us, starting with greater awareness of animal welfare. The peninsula has actually taken a step forward by banning the practice of “puppy yoga” on April 29. The tendency flowed over all places on transalpine, but also French social networks. The concept is simple: puppies (sometimes kittens) join the yoga sessions of the practitioners, who can therefore be amazed and caress them throughout the hour. This is detrimental to the well-being of these little animals who have not asked for anything.

A practice of disconnected city dwellers

After the “cat bars”, where felines parade between tables and armchairs to attract a clientele easily sensitive to the presence of these antidepressant animals – and where only the pleasure of the client (and the client) who is ecstatic in front of these animals, counting little furballs, which are nevertheless tired of so many people -, the latest fad from the other side of the Atlantic, namely “puppy yoga” sessions, is no exception to this rule: everything that comes from the US is not worthy, not necessarily to be imported into France.

And for good reason: born of “animal usefulness”, this new trend is not at all tender when we place ourselves on the side of the puppies, but looks like another delirium of city dwellers. First of all, these sessions are only available for booking when you check the locations of companies offering “puppy yoga” in major national and international metropolises such as Paris, Toulouse, Lyon, Marseille and Madrid. It seems that this new fashion is aimed only at privileged urbanites, with a pronounced dose of “marketing” that even the very Parisian site condemns. The lickwho did not seem to have enjoyed the experience.

Pleasure for some, abuse for others

The Italian animal rights association, LNDC Animal Protection, which won the first battle in Italy after denouncing the various errors related to this practice, was closely followed by the Brigitte-Bardot Foundation, which recently communicated, she, about the commercial aspect of this fashion. , induces “a perfect opportunity for breeders to present litters to potential customers […] a new discipline which therefore encourages the impulsive purchase of breeding puppies and encourages abandonment »…

Also among these shortcomings, condemned by the president of the Italian association, a “real exploitation […] which does not take into account the well-being and psychophysical health of creatures who are still too fragile to be treated in this way”. Puppies are in fact very – too – young to be exposed to such an intense and continuous human presence that overwhelms them and separates them from their original maternal environment.

If the Ministry of Health in Italy decided to put an end to this practice at the end of April, the subject is not yet current in France, but it could be quickly discussed given the growing interest of the French in animal cases.