Animal abandonment on the rise, SPA shelters saturated

2023-04-23 11:02:37

Inflation and the difficult economic context have repercussions on pets. As revealed by RTL, abandonments thus increased by 15% in the first quarter of 2023 and the SPA shelters are saturated. At the same time, adoptions have stagnated in recent months: this Friday, nearly 4,000 animals are looking for a family, according to the count of the website of the Society for the Protection of Animals.

Not to mention those who are not yet available and currently in care. “6,400 animals are present today while our nominal capacity is 7,500. Our refuges are almost at saturation before the start of the summer period, ”alarms the president of the SPA Jacques-Charles Fombonne at the microphone of the radio.

Increasing fees for landlords

The reason for this situation: the increase in the price of food, especially for dogs and cats. As France Bleu reminds us, kibbles have skyrocketed by 18% in one year, pushing many owners to abandon their companions. “A healthy animal costs around 1,000 euros per year. It’s a considerable sum,” recalls Jacques-Charles Fombonne.

And that’s without counting the veterinary costs which can quickly reach peaks in the event of a major intervention. “Today, even an average household cannot afford it”, recognizes at the microphone of France Bleu Maeva Fabbri, director of the Strasbourg SPA.

Bone Shelters

Result: adoption requests are plummeting and the stays of animals in the boxes are getting longer, “on average between 51 and 56 days”, specifies Jacques-Charles Fombonne. Some local structures are even forced to make owners who wish to abandon their animals wait until a box becomes available.

If inflation has consequences for households, the same is true for shelters. The rise in the price of food, veterinary costs and energy are weighing on SPAs. According to Jacques-Charles Fombonne, caring for an animal costs 1,000 euros on average, compared to 850 euros before inflation. “We went from 690 euros in operating costs for each of the animals to 942 euros”, details the president on RTL.

The SPA therefore calls for help and organizes open doors in all its shelters on May 13 and 14. In 2022, it took in 44,199 abandoned animals, including 27,940 cats, almost equaling a 2019 record.