Woof Woof - Its a Dogs Life in Svalbard

Svalbard, a remote Arctic archipelago in Norway, offers an extraordinary environment for its inhabitants – including their beloved pets. The lives of dogs and cats in this remote and beautiful location are very different. Spoiler - there are no cats!

TL;DR

In this blog post, I explore what it’s like to be a dog, and why there are no cats.

🐕 Dogs

There are hundreds of dogs in Svalbard. The majority are working dogs used in Dog sledding and guided patrols. The breeds tend to be Siberian huskies, Green land dogs and Alaskan malamutes.

These dogs live at the several dog yards outside of Longyearbyen - you can’t miss the dog yards - they are big and noisy.

Male and female dogs are separated - to help manage the dogs and aid selective breeding. Each dog has its own wooden kennel, to which its 2 metre lead is attached. The dogs stay here all year - even during the harsh cold winters, some of the dogs even prefer to sleep outside, lying in a circle with its nose tucked under its tail.

The dogs are primarily used for dog sledding which is a traditional and popular activity in Svalbard, especially in Longyearbyen, the main settlement - for winter transport, tourism excursions and dog sled racing. Dogs are exercised all year - with wheeled sledges used during the summer when snow covering is absent.

In addition, because of the real danger of polar bears, dogs are used as early warning systems in remote areas or during wilderness walks or camping, their keen sense of smell and hearing will alert humans before bears get too close.

There are a small number of dogs that are kept as pets, they usually live with the owner. They tend to be breeds that are more suited to living indoors.

🐈 Cats

There are no cats allowed in Svalbard. From 1992 they were strictly prohibited from being imported. It’s the same story for ferets. This is due to the risk to the native bird population.

However there is a story that a cat named Kesha lived in the Russian settlement Barentsburg, to get around the law, his owners claimed he was an arctic fox on official documents. After his death in 2021, a handful of other cats still remained in Barentsburg, but no cats are permitted in Longyearbyen

Happy travels!