The image of the abandoned pet on a motorway service area is unfortunately still very topical. The animal protection society (SPA) alerts Wednesday to a “critical situation” after the care this summer in its 63 shelters of 16,498 animals, 11,564 cats, 4,054 dogs, 844 new pets, mainly rodents and 36 equines during the summer period.
“A summer report with serious consequences”, estimates the SPA, the number of abandonments between May 1 and August 31 being almost identical to that of last summer which already marked an increase compared to the year. former. Adoptions fell by 5.2% compared to the summer of 2022, a situation which does not allow places to be freed up to welcome new residents.
Inflation leads to new abandonments, shelters are saturated
“Our teams are exhausted and have to stay on the front line to take care of all these summer orphans. We currently have 7,994 animals present on all of our sites”, an increase of 2.4% compared to last summer, Jacques-Charles Fombonne, the president of the SPA, is alarmed in a press release. “A critical situation that has been setting in for several years with each time new reasons for dropping out, such as inflation this year,” he laments, hoping that “this return to school will be conducive to raising awareness about responsibility. begotten by an animal.
To fight against the scourge of abandonment and raise public awareness, the SPA is launching the “Lost Human” operation, a shock campaign of wanted notices where the roles are reversed. The campaign includes five other equally surprising posters featuring dogs and cats speaking up to describe their owners, whom they naively hope to find thanks to these advertisements posted in the streets.