Canine leishmaniasis is a serious parasitic disease spreading northward in Europe with climate change, causing significant welfare impacts and posing challenges for imported and travelling dogs.
Leishmaniasis causes significant and progressive welfare deterioration - skin ulcers, debilitating weight loss, kidney failure and eye disease create chronic suffering that worsens without intensive management. The welfare challenge is that treatment controls but does not cure - infected dogs require lifelong monitoring, ongoing medication and regular assessment to maintain quality of life. Import of dogs from southern Europe and North Africa into northern countries has established infected populations outside endemic sandfly areas. Welfare-positive management requires early diagnosis, immediate treatment initiation, and regular monitoring protocols including kidney function assessment, as renal disease is a major cause of death and welfare decline.