BC shelters overwhelmed as interest in pet adoption drops

During the pandemic, the BC SPCA was flooded with applications for prospective pet parents, but not anymore.

The organization says there are more than 1,500 animals looking for a forever home right now in the province, as a result of the falling interest in pet adoption in recent months. 

 

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“When a puppy came into our care, we would have multiple applications – sometimes up to 100 – within 24 hours,” says Lorie Chortyk, general manager of communications for the BC SPCA about the pandemic pet adoption frenzy. 

With the need to self-isolate, people were looking to find companionship in animals throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as many were suddenly working from home full-time. 

The surge in cat adoptions alone broke all-time records.

“The number of cats adopted in Canada in 2020 was at the highest rate ever, with almost 70% of cats taken into shelters adopted,” as per a report by Humane Canada.

However, that all appears to have changed.

The BC SPCA says this summer it has seen an “abrupt slowdown in applications for all types of animals, including puppies that were once so popular.”

While some may blame well-intentioned pet owners who adopted in haste during the pandemic, the BC SPCA says the increase in animals in their care is not to blame on a surge of surrendered animals, like other shelters are seeing.

“We did not see this particular trend in our facilities, but we always have a lot of animals coming into our care on a daily basis through cruelty investigations, animal abandonment or strays who go unclaimed,” Chortyk said. 

Out of 1,500 unadopted cats, dogs, and more, there are about 700 in the shelters, while others are in foster homes.

 

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While there are many dogs and cats waiting to be adopted, the number of unadopted rabbits has doubled compared to the same time last year. 

 

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Chortyk says there are also lots of guinea pigs, hamsters, horses, goats, pigs, and chickens in the shelters right now. 

If you would like to know more about BC SPCA, you can check out its website here.

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