Only 44 Of The Dogs And Cats Recovered In Spain Are Adopted

The statistics don’t lie, and if there’s one element that makes the landscape of hundreds of thousands of pets abandoned over the past year even worse, it’s that only 44% of the dogs and cats collected in animal shelters have been adopted. at least as far as Spain is concerned.

The worst part in these cases is that most of the time, if not always, these animals end up on the street for avoidable causes. 

Making the wrong decision when adopting or buying a pet can turn into a real tragedy for the pet. Among the main causes of abandonment we find in fact an erroneous evaluation of the means to support them, unexpected births and behavior problems.

However, before delving into the issue of lack of awareness regarding adoptions, it is good to evaluate the main cause that leads to such a large number of animals on the street:

Little awareness of the responsibilities that adoption entails

Lack of awareness of the responsibilities associated with adopting a pet is considered the main cause of their abandonment. Many people do not know what having a pet really entails, particularly in terms of maintenance, education and care.

Consequently, it is easy for problems to arise over time, due for example to the fact that the animal does not know where to do its business or that it constantly barks, in addition to a whole long series of behavioral problems that are however easily avoidable or correctable. . It would be enough to dedicate a little more time to the animal.

According to a study carried out by the Affinity Foundation, approximately half of the dogs (43%) and less than the same percentage of cats (40%), find a family because they are given away.

A very significant aspect is that the chances of an animal ending up abandoned increase when the person or house where it is welcomed has not voluntarily made the decision to take responsibility for it. For this reason, animal shelters sensitize people not to give away dogs or cats.

Animal adoption rates

It is estimated that the amount of animals collected in 2014 reached approximately 140,000 specimens. Of these, approximately 106,781 were dogs, and 33,410 cats.

An index corresponding to almost 1% of the total number of animals recovered includes exotic animals such as reptiles, primates or birds.

Of the total amount of animals collected from the shelters, about 17% were returned to their owners because they were equipped with a microchip. In the case of dogs it can be considered a positive result, since about 30% of these animals were equipped with the recognition system. The data relating to cats is not so positive, given that the estimate reaches just 3%.

The ability to correctly identify the animal can be vital, as it not only allows the animal to be returned if it is lost, but helps reduce the abandonment rate.

Unfortunately, 16% of the animals recovered last year are still guests inside shelters, or have had to travel from shelter to shelter in search of a home.

Another unpromising finding is that 12% of the animals rescued last year were culled,  whether due to disease, aggressive behavior, extreme nervousness or other types of behavior problems, which made adoption impossible. . In the most alarming cases, the animals were evicted after being in shelters for too long.

Therefore only 44% of the dogs and cats collected in the shelters were adopted in Spain.

Reasons why people don’t adopt

The reasons are varied. However, there are several factors common to all pet adoption processes:

• Many people continue to have a preference for purebred animals, which will therefore be more likely to be adopted than crossbreeds.
• There is a great predilection for the adoption of puppies, which is confirmed by the fact that according to all the statistics it is the elderly animals that have the greatest difficulties in finding a new home.

• There is a false myth that stray animals have bad habits that are impossible to change.
• Fear that animals coming from shelters are carriers of diseases  that endanger the health of the owner and any other animals.