Every summer, the shelters of animal protection associations are confronted with an influx of animals found abandoned. Are there more than last summer? Are shelters more saturated? The answers of the president of the SPA Jacques Charles Fombonne
“The SPA refuges are more saturated than last year with a bizarre situation: we have a little less dropouts than last year. Fortunately, because last year was already a record year. But we had very few adoptions in the spring, which meant that we started the summer with shelters that were already almost full when we usually still have 2,000 or 3,000 places before June.“.
“We try, by interviewing people who come to adopt anyway, to find out what is going on. I think it’s inflation. People worry about their purchasing power. This is war on our borders. This is the health crisis. A whole bunch of elements that only add to the causes of anxiety and uncertainty and that do not encourage you to have fun and make a long-term commitment by taking an animal.“
“Yes, there is a real specific problem with kittens. There is a simple reason: during the health crisis, we had two years without sterilization of free cats, those who do not belong to anyone, who are in areas rural areas and even in Paris there are some in the big parks. People bring them to us because they are litters that they find in their garages, in their basements, in their gardens and they only know that Of the 12,000 animals collected since the beginning of the summer, we have more than 8,000 cats.”
“They are seriously but seriously mistaken because it is a misdemeanor, it is a misdemeanor that takes you to the criminal court and you risk five years in prison and a fine that can go up to 75,000 euros in the case where abandonment is followed by the death of the animal.“
“This is rather false. At the SPA, we only give up animals that have been cared for, identified, sterilized and have undergone a behavioral examination. Obviously we do not give animals that could present a hazard.”
“It is both true and false. We charge 250 euros for a dog, 300 for a puppy, 150 euros for a cat. First, because we don’t have any subsidies, we live only on the generosity of the public. It is extremely expensive: sterilization, identification, care, property tax on our buildings, veterinary fees, the food we buy for our animals. And then above all because what is free has no value, so we ask for an infinitely lower sum of money than what you would pay at a breeder’s, but symbolically we pay, we commit, we break the piggy bank, we don’t buy like something they give you for free when you exit the metro.“
“It is absolutely true. I encourage all those who would like to help us. We currently have 8,800 animals in our shelters for a capacity of approximately 6,500. We manage to survive because there are people who take animals from us temporarily. We pay for food, we pay for veterinary care if necessary. But we can take the animals for 8 days, 15 days, a month and that allows us to get through this difficult period of summer until September when we will have a resumption of adoptions and a decrease in abandonments.“
Beware, finally, of advertisements on the internet offering to adopt animals. There may be the risk of supplying clandestine breeding networks under conditions that are not controlled, animals sold before the end of their weaning. And sometimes scams concerning animal vaccination certificates. With numbers to call back which are prepaid numbers and which no longer respond once the sale has been concluded.