All over Germany
Terribly miserable situation – these animal shelters have already imposed admission freezes
During the pandemic, many people fulfilled their dream of owning their own pet. Such four-legged friends later ended up in the animal shelter. This little dog was hoping for a new home at the Duisburg animal shelter at the end of 2022.
© Sven Simon
The animal shelters in Germany are overflowing. Some facilities do not accept new charges. The list of animal shelters that raise the alarm extends across Germany. An overview.
And if you find a homeless animal and cannot look after it yourself, you should contact the police, the animal shelter advised in a press release.
A good week later, the all-clear was given: the strict freeze on admission was lifted because some animals had meanwhile been adopted. However, a new freeze on admission cannot be ruled out.
The Hamburg animal rights activists are not alone in their plight. In the past few weeks, a number of animal shelters in Germany have sounded the alarm: they see themselves close to the limit, are counteracting the crisis with waiting lists for donation animals or have stopped taking them in completely – at least temporarily or for some species.
Animal shelters speak of an unprecedented crisis this year
Although it has never been easy for animal shelters, the current situation is extreme, it said at the request of the star to the German Animal Welfare Association. Because of the annual holiday victims – i.e. animals that are abandoned because the holidays are coming up – the facilities continue to feel the consequences of the Corona pet boom. Many animals acquired during the pandemic ended up in the homes, especially dogs and cats.
In terms of numbers, cats were the most sought-after new pets in the pandemic, according to data from the Animal Welfare Association: their number in Germany rose by a good million to around 16.7 million animals in 2021. Most recently it was around 15.2 million.
600,000 dogs were also newly acquired during the lockdown and home office times. For many people, a dog was a source of comfort and variety in the tedious everyday life of the pandemic and a welcome companion on walks. According to the Animal Welfare Association, there are currently around 10.6 million dogs in German households, a good 300,000 fewer than in the pandemic year 2021.
According to the pure numbers, dogs appear to be the smaller problem, but only at first glance: Animal shelters have particularly great difficulties with them and are often hardly able to pass them on: Many are badly trained or aggressive when inexperienced owners were overwhelmed. Some dogs are sick because they come from dubious sources.
According to the Animal Welfare Association, a Yougov survey in April 2022 revealed that a good fifth of new pet owners quickly regretted the purchase of their new pet.
According to research by star Animal shelters across Germany feel they have reached their capacity limits. However, some facilities remain silent about this because they don’t want to risk people simply abandoning their pets.
Others make their plight public and impose at least temporary freezes on admissions in the hope of using public pressure to improve the situation. At the request of star the German Animal Welfare Association presented a list of animal shelters that see themselves in a difficult situation. The list could be extended, so the information. Here are the examples in alphabetical order:
- The animal care Barsinghausen recently made public that it was about to stop recording
- At the shelter Berlin the dog houses are overcrowded
- The shelter imposed a freeze on admission Buxtehude in July
- The animal care Bonn sees himself at the limit, a local radio station reported recently
- At the county animal shelter Donaueschingen the stress and capacity limit has been reached in cats, as it was said in July
- The animal care Duisburg is at the upper limit in the cat area
- The animal care Ettlingen recently reported that it was reaching its limits during the holiday season. The countless found cats are striking
- At the shelter Geesthacht The facility recently said that the acceptance of certain animals had to be refused. The number of animals found there has quadrupled in some cases
- The animal care Gelnhausen is “rolled over by animals”, as the saying goes. Some of them could no longer be accepted
- The capacities of the animal shelter Hamm are exhausted according to their own assessment. Significantly more animals than usual were also brought there
- The animal care Hanover imposed a freeze on admissions in July.
- At the shelter Heidenheim Dogs in acute need of protection can no longer find a place because all the places are occupied by dogs that are difficult to adopt
- In the Animal shelter Henstedt-Ulzburg in July no new dogs, cats and rabbits can be accepted due to overcrowding
- The animal shelter Uhlenkrog (keel) no longer accepts cats and dogs, according to information from July
- At the shelter Leipzig In Breitenfeld, all rooms and enclosures are packed, it was said recently
- At the shelter Linxbachhof the influx of animals – including abused and sick ones – is higher than ever, as the operators announced in July
- The shelter announced a freeze on admission Lueneburg in July
- The animal care Mel reported in the press in July: “We are a rather small animal shelter with space for four dogs, 40 cats and a few small animals. It is currently more than full here. We currently have 60 cats. We receive an above-average number of inquiries, even more more than 2022, for donation dogs, cats and rabbits”
- Animal shelter for animal lovers Muenster is crowded with the cats, as it was said in July
- The animal care Nuremberg has had a freeze on admissions for months, as it is fully utilized in all areas. It has been months since private individuals have been able to take in animals
- The Animal Welfare Association Prignitz issued a freeze on admissions to its sanctuary in late June Perleberg
- The animal care Remscheid announced in July that it could not take in any new cats at the moment because so many were being given away
- The animal care Salzgitter announced in July that no more animals could be given away
- The animal care Solingen cannot accept new cats because so many are being given away as stated in July
- The animal care Straubing recently imposed a freeze on admissions
- The animal care Troisdorf sees himself at the limit, as reported by Radio Bonn/Rhein-Sieg.
Sources: NDR, NDR“Nordbayern.de“, “Baden Latest News“
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