In a new campaign, the municipality of The Hague is drawing the attention of its residents to the effects of food and litter on animals. With confrontational questions such as ‘Your food leftovers, our main menu?’ and ‘Who is the slob here?’ followed by the appeal ‘What do you think!’,residents are challenged to think about the impact of their behaviour. The campaign shows that feeding and dumping waste does not help animals, but actually harms them.
Alderman Robert Barker (Outdoor Space, Animal Welfare & Environment): ‘We share our city with all kinds of wild animals. Many people want to do something good for these animals. They feed ducks or leave food scraps in the hope that animals will eat them. But what is well-intentioned often has a bad outcome. Our food is unhealthy for animals and can lead to animals becoming ill and needing care. With this campaign we want to make residents of The Hague aware of this.’
Previously, the municipality used awareness campaigns to draw attention to responsible pet ownership and animal suffering caused by fishing. Under the familiar slogan ‘What do you think!’, the campaign now focuses on the welfare of wild animals living in the city, from ducks in the pond to pigeons on the square. The campaign also focuses again on animal suffering caused by fishing.
Persistent problems
The campaign focuses on persistent problems: feeding animals with food scraps and the consequences of litter in public spaces. In addition to posters and bus shelters in the city, an online campaign is also being conducted via social media and the website www.denhaag.nl/houddierengezond . Residents are informed about the risks of feeding and the importance of a clean living environment for animals. The Hague residents can also find information on the site about what they can do if they encounter an animal in need or want to report litter.
What do you think?
‘Animals are our fellow citizens. Yet they get sick from the food that is thrown everywhere on the streets. The large food supply also causes an increase in animals, such as rats. I hope that with this campaign we get people thinking about what their behavior means for city animals. What do you think? Does it really help, or not?’, says alderman Barker about the new campaign.
The campaign is part of the broader policy in The Hague to structurally improve animal welfare. Various measures have already been announced to improve the welfare of wild animals in the city. For example, the municipality will hang nest boxes, place climbing facilities and contribute to the care of injured wild animals.
