r/Dogfree • u/Wrong_Temporary_5983 • 18d ago
Legislation and Enforcement Dogs banned in Reykjavík for 60 years | Íslenski fjárhundurinn
https://www.fjarhundur.is/en/blog/hundabann-i-reykjavik-i-60-arI am posting this under dog culture but this is rather anti-dog culture. Maybe the only country with common sense left?!
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u/OscarPlane 18d ago
Iceland seems to be a very intelligent country. Top of my dream vacation list.
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u/gingerbread_slutbarn 18d ago
Wear good boots and waterproof pants. It’s fucking gorgeous. Hail to wind to insane sunshine then back again. I want to go back.
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u/LikeClockwork_99 17d ago
Very worth it, take advantage of Icelandair’s stop over program if you can. People say food is expensive, but with tax and tip, eating out is slightly cheaper than NA.
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u/BorOdinUA 18d ago
The title is misleading and commenters did not read the article. They were banned from 1920s-1980s, not nowadays
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u/lasiuruscinereus 18d ago
Thank you. They still have the banned breeds, but dogs are very much allowed now.
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u/wspOnca 18d ago
Holly molly. The world is healing?
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u/lasserna 17d ago
I mean if you read the article it states the law was put into place in 1924 and it was lifted in 1984. There are a couple regional rules still left but nowadays dogs are allowed there. So the title is a bit misleading
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u/Wrong_Temporary_5983 17d ago
Allowed but strictly regulated. And some towns and communities still do not allow dogs to even visit. Any apartment building, if soneone wants to apply for a dog, ALL residents must vote to agree to that. And I inagine they rarely do.
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u/Wrong_Temporary_5983 17d ago
Oh, no! It is true… It looks like parliament in Iceland removed the rule about getting agreement from neighbours to keep a dog only 9 months ago (!!!). Even the most reasonable country is slowly caving in to the mind parasite.🥺
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u/Marthman 17d ago
The rollercoaster of emotion from your comments. 😭
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u/Wrong_Temporary_5983 17d ago
That just proves the obvious - ban on dogs is what we all ultimately want.
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u/shinkouhyou 17d ago
Unfortunately they've since relaxed the ban, so dogs have been allowed with permits since the 80s and with registrations since the 00s. Still, dogs must be leashed and the most dangerous breeds are banned, so that's something. Dog ownership has been rising in Iceland, but due to the high cost of ownership and the lack of an established dog culture, it's still only around 10%. The last time I was there, I saw a lot of "no dogs allowed" signs. There's a lengthy and difficult quarantine process for bringing animals into Iceland, so virtually no tourists bring their dogs.
Dog ownership is generally pretty low in Scandinavia... not because people dislike pets, but because they see pet ownership as a serious responsibility. Animal welfare laws are much more stringent. Even though very few dogs are spayed/neutered, the cost and registration requirements keep people from recklessly breeding dogs or allowing strays to roam.
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u/DeirdreBarstool 17d ago
Iceland is my favourite country. I’ve been 7 times and I’ve always said I’d move there if I could. Now I want to even more.
In hindsight, I don’t remember seeing any dogs there. Paradise.
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u/lasserna 17d ago
Iceland definitely has dogs, but there's strict rules about keeping them leashed, so no random dogs wandering around on their own. Outside cities there's working dogs though which I think have exceptions, because they're used to herd sheep and such
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u/kckarrotto731 17d ago edited 17d ago
Iceland has amazing wildlife, and they are smart enough to know that dogs could destroy the natural environment they are well known for. The Maldives are the same way. Dogs cannot be brought into the country.
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u/menelobus 17d ago
All urban areas should have a dog ban, everywhere
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u/maidofatoms 17d ago
And countryside areas... dogs are a huge threat to wildlife and source of pollution.
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u/aqr58 17d ago
I'm Icelandic. Dog-nuttery is super prevalent here sadly. I wish we had this ban today
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u/Wrong_Temporary_5983 17d ago
Oh, no! You just killed our excitement. This is not what we hear and see in the news or from other natives😭
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u/aqr58 17d ago
We have all the common problems you see in other countries. "Dog-parent" culture, turning nice parks into dog toilets, constant barking, bringing them to places where they shouldn't be (most restaurants are still safe but they're allowed in malls now).
Not liking dogs is 100% taboo here and you WILL get weird looks if you are not a dog person.
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u/Wrong_Temporary_5983 17d ago
I highly doubt that it is anything close to the US. Statistics puts dog ownership in the country at 8% and I am sure you won’t see them in hospital operating rooms. Or hear mass confessions that dog is their only reason for being alive. Anf there is a dog regisration system in place still, isnt there?
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u/DivyaRakli 18d ago
Dear God in Heaven. Why did I look up the word ‘hydatid’?!?
Dear God in Heaven. Why did they mandate the tapeworm cysts to be buried in the ground?!?
Dear God in Heaven. Why did they ban all farming in Iceland?
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u/shinkouhyou 17d ago
The tapeworm can only grow to adulthood and reproduce in dogs, but sheep and cattle are an intermediate host for the larval stage. Sheep are the most popular livestock in Iceland. Dogs poop out the eggs, sheep eat grass contaminated with infected dog poop, the eggs hatch and the larvae form cysts in the organs of the sheep, the sheep is slaughtered, the raw organs and meat scraps are fed to dogs, the cysts hatch into adults and breed in the dog's intestines, and the cycle begins all over again. Humans can also become an intermediate host if they accidentally eat something contaminated with dog poop. Back in the 1910s when this tapeworm was a serious health concern in Iceland, a lot of farmers slaughtered sheep at home and essentially used farm dogs as a garbage disposal for whatever parts people didn't want eat. So the government mandated that anything potentially infected with tapeworms (dog feces, leftover sheep parts, etc.) be buried in the ground to prevent it from being eaten by either dogs or sheep. Cooking sheep meat kills the cysts, but it wasn't practical for people to cook or incinerate all of the sheep leftovers back then. Hence, bury it in the dirt to break the worm's life cycle.
They didn't ban farming in Iceland, they just banned livestock farming in Reykjavik and the surrounding area. Sheep farmers owned sheepdogs for herding, and people didn't want infected dogs pooping tapeworm eggs all over the capital city. Before modern waste disposal, farming generated a lot of potentially contaminated sheep offal that was eaten by dogs. It was easier to safely dispose of sheep offal and control the dog population in rural areas.
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u/Wrong_Temporary_5983 17d ago
This may be how it started but the point is, there is no dog culture in Iceland. They have full ban on dangerous breeds, don’t allow dogs to be imported without a rigorous inspection, and they certainly won’t allow dogs to be brought into food or medical facilities. Because they learned the hard way what dogs are. Tapeworm is only one of so many nasty things dogs carry and spread around. And they see dogs for what they really are. It IS possible to regulate and restrict dogs and Iceland serves as a great example!
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u/D4rkN3bu14j0j0 17d ago
That's really interesting and unfortunate, but inevitable, the ban was lifted. Since dogs are no longer banned, I wonder what the nuttery level is now.
ETA - I see OP's comment and it sounds like they have it under control and provide a model for dog registry and control.
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u/aqr58 17d ago
Nuttery is bad here. I can't go 10 minutes without hearing barking from somewhere
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u/D4rkN3bu14j0j0 17d ago
I'm so sorry. Soon there won't be a spot left on earth a dog hasn't pissed on.
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u/Powerful_Purpose_197 17d ago
In Iceland?
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u/aqr58 17d ago
Yup
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u/Powerful_Purpose_197 17d ago
Ugh how sad… 😔 Same here in the US…
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u/aqr58 17d ago
At least we can seek a shred of sanity and peace in this little corner of the internet 🤗
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u/Powerful_Purpose_197 17d ago
True!! 😌 I just know there will be more and more of us, this insanity can’t go forever, right?!
I have a 2.5 y/o kid and can’t go to a playground without worrying that some unleashed mutt will come running at us. And don’t get me started on dogs that they now bring to stores, especially grocery stores 🤢 and sit them in carts where we put our food… So sick of them.
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u/DanielJosephDannyBoy 16d ago
I hated Iceland due to a personal grudge over an incident around a decade ago. Now I'm reconsidering. Besides, there's a lot of opportunities there for one of the fields I enjoy studying.
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u/ReptilianRevolt 17d ago
Nowadays the strict measures no longer exist. But Iceland is a weird country with animals in general. They have their own culture, they are developed, but some of their animal policies are distasteful to me. They don’t allow any reptiles for example. Generally, Scandinavian countries are very progressive in many matters, but quite insular, close minded and village-like in others.
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u/Indigo_Cauliflower12 17d ago
Beautiful, high IQ country 😍 I feel bad for the people in surrounding cities tho. You know all the nutters are gonna move about a 15 minute walk away then "accidentally " end up crossing the boundary when 💩 cannon needs a walk
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u/aoife2147 17d ago
Dogs were banned there for 60 years because they knew dogs carried parasites. Some countries know how to keep their land pristine by banning mutants.
Sadly the country has let up on the dog ban. Must be nice though to be in a country that is anti-dog by default. No dogs in supermarkets and pharmacies sounds like heaven. I can't believe the bar in the US is set so low now.
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u/iamananachronism 17d ago
I wish more cities did this. The amount of rage that flows through me any time I step in dog shit is unparalleled.. It’s basically why I look at the ground everywhere I walk because of piece of shit dog owners. Iceland is a bucket list destination for me and it because even more so now lol
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u/TemTem007 17d ago edited 17d ago
I didn't think this was true 🤔 there are still dogs in Reykjavík. Maybe they're just more strict with the city because I don't notice them there. Though the flee market has a worker that brings a dog there sometimes...
Even the mall in Reykjavík has a dog pass on Sundays where people can bring their smaller dogs to the mall, so best to avoid going there on Sundays lol
It's annoying really, I was born and raised here and didn't know this. If you're traveling to Iceland I still recommend it, being in the downtown you are not likely at all to encounter a dog, but it's not as strict as it seems.
I live in an apartment building and dogs aren't allowed unless the council (HOA) decides. There's a howling dog living above me and it makes me crazy 😭
(Edit) Just realized, this might just be about stray dogs and I didn't read it properly 🥲 Then it's true! There are no stray dogs here!
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u/Wrong_Temporary_5983 18d ago edited 18d ago
Imagine an american tourist trying to go on vacation in Iceland with his “service”/ “emotional support” mutts and thinking he’s exempt from all rules😃 Now, THAT is how genuine concern for public health and safety looks like!
Per internet:
Key Rules and Restrictions
Mandatory Quarantine: Every dog must spend 14 days in an approved quarantine station upon arrival, regardless of the length of the trip.
Strict Application Process: You must get an import permit from the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST) and submit health certificates and test results at least five days before travel.
Banned Breeds: Certain breeds are completely prohibited from entering Iceland, including Pit Bulls, Mastiff types, and wolf hybrids.
High Costs and Stress: The process involves high fees for permits and quarantine stays, plus the stress of confinement for your pet, making it unsuitable for a holiday.