Vita da cani

La questione del randagismo e dell’abbandono dei cani nella stampa italiana dal 1871 al 2025

Abstract

There are approximately 65 million pets in Italy, of which around 20 million are dogs and cats. Every year, around 130,000 of them are abandoned. In Italy, abandoning an animal is a crime, punishable by a fine or up to one year in prison. However, the crime often goes unreported or is resolved with a suspended sentence.
Before the 1991 framework law, dog and cat shelters were mainly used to prevent the spread of rabies. Stray or abandoned animals were transferred to these facilities to be kept under observation and then put down. The law of 14 August 1991 on pets and the prevention of stray animals prohibits the killing of animals. By signing the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Italy has committed itself to legislating on specific matters to protect the welfare of animals, defined in the same document as “sentient beings”. Despite this, the phenomenon of animal abandonment, as well as cruelty to pets, is still alarming.
This article analyses how the phenomenon of stray dogs and animal abandonment is represented in Italian press, with particular attention to the narrative of how the identity of animals is perceived. A diachronic analysis of texts dedicated to the phenomenon of dogs and stray dogs in Italian society has allowed us to see the evolution of the narrative that subsequently led to real changes in legislation. Through textual analysis of articles, surveys and reports published in Corriere della Sera between 1871 and 2025, changes in the history of the relationship between dogs and humans can be identified. To this end, macro-themes were extrapolated from the corpus around which public opinion focused during the period considered, namely: the spread and prevention of rabies, stray dogs, and the reform of dog shelters.
The study also assesses the extent to which the language commonly used in the press to discuss animal abuse may have influenced a change in mentality and, subsequently, in legislation that considered animals to be merely material goods (and therefore objects).