Time.news – During the pandemic, taking an animal into the house, dog, cat, canary, parrot, guinea pig, rabbit or hamster, for oneself or for one’s children and welcoming it into the family was a way to soften the impact of the lockdown. But now with the end of the pandemic it seems that some animals want to get rid of it.
The New York Times reports on a phenomenon that is catching on, particularly since Bill Crain’s Hudson Valley farm was stormed by people who insisted that it be took care of ducks, chickens, chicks, ducklings, all kinds of animals.
The reason? “They think the pandemic is over and they don’t want to take the time to care for them anymore,” said Mr. Crain, 78. People call because they hope Crain will take care of their pets. people abandon animals, “Crain commented.
The point is that in the acute days of the Covid-19 several people, moving away from cities besieged by the virus by opting for the campaignhave increased the demand for farmyard animals by making room in their homes for dogs and cats after “clearing the shelves of gerbils and lizards, chinchillas and snakes”, even.
All kinds of animals have become “objects of consolation,” but now that the pandemic is over and people are returning to offices and students to school, animals must also go back to where they came from. Even the fish.
The Times calculates: “Returns of small animals have increased by more than that 50% nationwide in the first six months of 2022, compared to the same period the year before, according to Shelter Animals Count, which collects data from more than 6,000 shelters, although they still remain about 20% lower than the pre-pandemic period. On the contrary, the yields of dogs and cats increased by less than 7% compared to the previous year and are still about 15% below the levels of 2019 ”.
The newspaper emphasizes: “In New York City, many have invaded the city’s animal shelter system – 600 so far this year, more than double the prepandemic numbers – to the point that the city council is considering passing a bill that would prohibit their sale in shops ”.
The most are under three years old, which indicates that they were “purchases caused by the virus”, said Katy Hansen, spokesperson for the shelter system, Animal Care Centers in New York City. “Population growth has forced shelters to invest in a new facility to house the $ 20,000 guinea pigs.”
An unsustainable situation to the point that “Wednesday, a box containing 22 guinea pigs of all ages was found abandoned in the atrium of an apartment building on Staten Island, a local resident said.
Just think that in Central Park, “rescues of domestic red-eared turtles have almost tripled this year“, Underlines the Times, which notes:” The phenomenon has become international. In England, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reported a 24% increase in abandonment reports from January to July this year compared to the same period last year. This included 3,363 abandoned exotic pets, including 1,455 fish and 685 snakes ”.