The number of pet abandonments has risen sharply since the start of the year, compared to the same period in 2022, according to the Montreal SPCA. The organization, which suspects the economic context and, a fortiori, real estate, of causing such a situation, fears a wave of abandonments in view of the critical period of removals.
By comparing the number of animals placed under its wing during the first four months of 2023 with that recorded on the same portion of the calendar in 2022, the Montreal SPCA announced on Tuesday that it had noted a worrying 21% increase in abandonments. Phone calls have also spiked, with receptionists at the shelter receiving an average of 187 calls per day between April and June, and up to 255 calls in recent weeks.
“We have nearly 230 more pets that have been abandoned than last year. It’s huge,” laments Laurence Massé, Deputy Director General of the Montreal SPCA. “We expected a wave of dropouts last year when the pandemic ended, but we never expected a greater increase this year,” she said, adding that the organization currently houses around a hundred cats in shelters, around thirty dogs and as many small animals (such as rodents), and has more than 450 animals placed in foster families.
That’s already a lot… and the 1er July has not arrived yet.
Laurence Massé, Deputy Director General of the Montreal SPCA
Small cats are particularly affected by the increase, but also, to a lesser extent, the profiles of so-called “pandemic” dogs, adopted as puppies during confinement, and thus potentially poorly socialized or suffering from separation anxiety.
Inflation and real estate in the legs
The organization suspects the economic situation and the rise in the cost of living as aggravating factors, as well as the state of the current Quebec real estate sector (evictions, explosion of rents, etc.). “One of the main reasons for abandonment is access to affordable housing that accepts animals. Yes, there is an upsurge in dropouts around 1er July, but every day we receive abandoned animals for reasons of moving”, specifies the deputy general manager.
PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The organization currently shelters a hundred cats in shelter, about thirty dogs and as many small animals.
Unanticipated medical costs are also part of the equation. “In an economic context of inflation, pet owners have great difficulty predicting them. It is not uncommon for them to abandon their animal because they no longer have the means to pay for these unforeseen events,” she continues. It is therefore not necessarily with joy of heart that the owners of cats or dogs end up separating from their companion and entrusting it to shelters, which witness heartbreaking situations on a daily basis.
Stemming dropouts
It’s no secret that the moving season generates a wave of abandonments every year. In view of the increase in the latter during the first half of 2023, the Montreal SPCA fears a tsunami from 1er July.
Currently, more than one animal per day is transferred to the organization due to moving.
However, each care entails an average cost of $1,000, from admission to adoption. The management of the shelter is turning to the public to help them absorb the logistical and financial management of the imminent summer influx, through well-managed adoptions and donations. Also noting an increase in stray animals since the beginning of the year, the organization also encourages households forced to part with their companion to do so with a shelter. “Here, there is no judgement. This makes it possible to retrieve the animal’s history and promote its adoption,” insists Laurence Massé.