In a press release published on September 8, the SPA expressed his concern by revealing the results of abandonments and adoptions for the summer period which has just ended.
7,808 animals lived in the 63 shelters and houses of the SPA as of August 31, which represents an increase of 7% compared to 2021.
An increase that poses a problem for the Society for the Protection of Animals and its teams, due to the lack of places. The association’s reception structures thus recorded the arrival of 16,457 animals between May 1 and August 31. These are distributed as follows:
- 11 268 chats
- 4,302 dogs
- 851 NACs
- 36 horses
This puts the 2022 summer season in the same sad vein as that of 2021 – a record year – with a very slight drop of only 2.7%.
If we combine these mass abandonments with a significant drop in adoptions (-9%) in the first quarter of 2022 (compared to the same period in 2021), it is easy to understand why the SPA shelters are struggling to cope with this. situation, they who were already full at the beginning of the summer.
A small positive point still brings a glimmer of hope in this bleak picture. It concerns the number of adoptions observed this summer, which increased by 1.2% compared to 2021. With +4.5%, the dog was the most prominent animal.
Pay attention to the choice of dog at the time of acquisition
On the occasion of this review, the SPA also called on adopters and buyers to be vigilant by choosing highly sought-after dogs with specific needs. She cites the Australian Shepherd, the Belgian Shepherd Malinois and the American Staffordshire Terrier, canines that require a lot of activity and stimulation.
The association points out that they are not suitable for all masters and that it is essential to ensure that you have a lifestyle compatible with them, as well as the availability to meet their expectations. These dogs now represent 30% of the canine workforce living in the shelters and houses of the Society for the Protection of Animals. For their volunteers and employees, finding adopters with the right profile is increasingly difficult.
« Awareness of this subject is essential, on the one hand because it has an impact on our ability to be able to collect new animals, and on the other hand because this ignorance taints the relationship between the animal and its master, leading most time to quit failure “, highlighted Jacques-Charles Fombonnepresident of the SPA.
Read also: A woman sends a special farewell to her elderly dog who is living his last days (video)
Increasingly in demand, the SPA’s investigations division has been strengthened
Faced with these problems, the SPA does not content itself with collecting and caring for animals who find themselves without a home or a family. She is also committed to working in the field by conducting investigations, particularly on acts of mistreatment. Its investigation division has, in fact, been extremely busy, since it carried out 7,796 investigations, i.e. 3 times more than in 2021.
To carry out these missions, the SPA has set up an effective alert system and recruited 150 investigating delegates, bringing their number to 856 within its teams.