Animal shelters and pounds were emptied last year after lengthy lockdowns inspired Australians to adopt large numbers of pets.
However, this year many pounds and animal shelters have reached capacity, as multiple shelters have reported a spike in abandoned and surrendered pets.
Project Underdog Rescue Melbourne Vice President Tom Wright said 2020 saw the group inundated with foster carers, but this year they were in need once again despite lockdowns still continuing.
“During the long Melbourne lockdown, we had a lot more foster carers than usual, obviously that was a benefit, more people at home potentially got a little bit more time,” Mr Wright said.
“That’s dropped off, it’s definitely back to pre-COVID.”
RSPCA Victoria CEO Dr Liz Walker said the “COVID pet” trend was a recognition of the value of animals in the home.
“Since April 2020, we’ve adopted out around 10,000 pets,” Dr Walker said.
“We’ve had 63,438 online applications, some of those will be duplications, but there’s no doubt that people have really recognized that animals do make your lives better.”
Mr Wright said the dramatically high rate of adoptions in 2020 meant larger numbers of young animals were being returned to shelters this year, most notably dogs, as a result of difficulties with behavioural issues.
“I do think we’re starting to see the impact of COVID puppies, our private surrender requests have tripled this year and one thing we’ve noticed is they’re all about one to two years old.”
Dr Walker said pet owners facing financial hardship throughout the pandemic is another reason animals may be surrendered, but urged people to reach out for help before making any decisions.
“Our preference is always to try and keep animals with the people who love them, if that’s what everybody wants, [but] if life just chucks you a curveball, there is absolutely no shame in surrendering your animal,” she said.
“We would encourage people to talk to organizations like ours about that, to see what assistance may be able to be provided to them.”
Featured image: Pixabay
Image description: A close up photo of yellow labrador dog with brown eyes.
