The Rennes SPA refuge (Ille-et-Vilaine) is saturated. While dog adoptions have fallen, the abandonment of hamsters, rabbits and guinea pigs has tripled in 2021. The SPA wants the sale of these new pets to be banned in pet stores to avoid compulsive buying.
They were lucky. Pitu and Pita, a couple of hamsters, were taken in by the Rennes Animal Protection Society (SPA) after being found in a plastic crate 250 meters from the shelter. “It was raining, a gentleman passing with his truck warned us that there were two small animals left on the sidewalk”, remembers Loanne Larrousse, animal officer. Like them, many new pets (NAC) have been supported recently. The number of dropouts has tripled in one year.
Compulsive purchases, then abandonment
The cage of Pitu and Pita, as well as those of their congeners, occupy the room normally reserved for volunteers while waiting to find a family. “We feel a little overwhelmed, we know that the equipment is not always suitable, but the overpopulation of the animals means that we do not have the space to accommodate them in suitable cages”, regrets the employee of the SPA.
– Maxim Glorious
Many owners, too, feel overwhelmed and regret their purchases, sometimes compulsive, of these hamsters, rabbits and guinea pigs. “It’s tiny, it’s supposed to not take up a lot of space in people’s minds. And sadly, it doesn’t. It still needs big cages, good litter and like any animal, like a dog or a cat, they need to see the vet,” indicates Loanne Larrousse. The association therefore calls for a ban on the sale of these little balls of fur in pet stores.
Drop in dog adoptions
The puzzle has only just begun at the SPA refuge. “A hamster, it makes lots of babies very quickly!” The animal officer warns that these animals need to be alone in their cage. “You have to be careful not to buy several.” Pitu and Pita, like many hamsters, can live for several years. A rabbit can sometimes live as long as a dog.
– Maxim Glorious
The Rennes refuge of the SPA is also faced with an overpopulation of dogs. “The shelter is full when we are only at the end of January”, worries Loanne Larrousse. The previous week, about twenty cats were adopted against only two dogs. “It’s really very, very little, when we have more than 80 dogs in the shelter.” Last year, 1204 animals were cared for and 1074 of them found a family.
Dogs not adapted to the lifestyle of their owner
Next week, 23 requests for dog care must be studied. “We have a lot of requests for support from people who have taken dogs without really finding out what it entails. They take dogs that are not at all adapted to their way of life. For example, we have had a case of a person who came to abandon a Malinois cross, an extremely dynamic dog, who needs to exert himself physically and mentally, but these people only had half an hour of walks to offer him a day. ”
The sheets of animals to adopt are available online. The shelter is looking for volunteers but the information meetings will not resume until February, due to the health context.