Mainly labradors, beagles and dachshunds, pets are a true passion for the British royal family.
The Queen Mother never parted with her corgi Honey and she has made hers a legend.
But the new generations are no exception.
A love born when Queen Elizabeth’s father, George VI, brought her first puppy to the palace in 1933. It was love at first sight, but Elizabeth had to wait until she was 18 to receive a corgi of her own, Susan, ending up even taking her on her honeymoon in 1947.
Since then she has welcomed at least thirty and they have all been given more than regal treatment.
I have read that such privileges included a private room in each Windsor residence, kennels with velvet cushions and the royal shield, comfortable travel by helicopter or on the Royal Train.
At their complete disposal, a butler and a chef who prepared individual menus that were always varied, using only fresh and organic ingredients, and served them in porcelain bowls.
Also ‘commoners’ in the United Kingdom enjoy pets and many families own dogs, cats, birds, hamsters and so forth.
The British laws aim at protecting pets and, in addition to the ban on cutting tails and ears and selling or giving animals as prizes to children, there is also a handbook for dog and cat owners, which establishes the rules to follow to ensure the safety and well-being of your pet.
For cats, nocturnal raids are prohibited, sterilization is mandatory starting from the fourth month of age, adequate privacy is guaranteed at home, to be implemented with appropriate spaces, designed away from children and other animals, and, above all, rules of adequate mental stimulation.
It is a sort of Code of conduct as they called it and in England it is required to respect a specific behavior towards their animal, based fundamentally on respect for its species.
The laws regarding cat protection are particularly strict.
It is absolutely forbidden to keep our cat overweight, as well as to neglect all possible measures to stimulate its predatory nature and avoid the boredom and depression of having it at home all day.
I have heard of a sort of pet police made up of municipal employees who have the power to access homes to check the living conditions of the animals.
Similar rules apply to rabbits, which in the United Kingdom are considered, by at least a million people, a valid life companions and pet choice.
According to an article I have read there are also thousands of exotic animals kept as pets in the country.
This is what emerges from the authorizations issued by the districts that tell of tigers, lions, leopards, cheetahs with regard to the big cats only.
Then there are apparently thousands of poisonous reptiles such as cobras, rattlesnakes and vipers as well as a long list of dangerous animals of every species.
This is what official data also tell us in orderly Great Britain because the submerged world represents a black hole in which it is difficult to venture, obtaining credible data.
Moreover, across the Channel, it is enough to make a request, guarantee safety measures, a certain well-being to the wild animals and pay and the game is done.
There are no limitations other than those of a legal acquisition of the animal and being the holder of an authorization.
