Within the UK, there are around 1,000 shelters within England alone (Cosgrove, 2024), and according to Parliament there are an estimated 250,000 animals that go to rescue centres every year (2019). Furthermore on the 31st December 2023, 8,632 dogs and 6,771 cats were still in rescue care over the Christmas period (Loeb and Gray, 2024).
It has been argued that due to the ease of finding a rescue centre, it seems that members of the public believe they have a way out if it does not work out within their home. Also legislation is not seen to be as strong in comparison to other countries, with individuals potentially lying to ensure their privacy is not compromised (McMullen, 2016).
But why does this occur? And is there anything we can do to stop it?
Why are animals being given to rescue centres?
When any pet is being given up, it is not necessarily an easy decision. However, this does seem to depend on the type of pet as to the reasons why they are not within their forever home.
1. Dogs
Dogs are a considered a long term commitment to any individual regardless of their personal life. Whether alone, or starting a family being a dog owner is a big responsibility and one that potentially is taken lightly. Most forget the time, training, diet and medical commitments that comes with having a dog (Woodgreen Pets Charity, 2024).
Unfortunately, due to this 1 in 5 have considered rehoming their dog within the past year. Furthermore those who had given up their dog had 22% admitting it was due to the reduction in work from home opportunities, whilst 25% state it was due to financial reasons, such as spending an average of £1,500 annually just on doggy day care (Novuna, 2023).
2. Cats
Unfortunately, cats are fairing no better than dogs, and are the next common pet to be given up. Even though they are considered less maintenance than dogs, as they are appraised for being self-sufficient, such as not needing walks, toileting outside or in a tray and entertain themselves this does not seem to deter them being sent to a rescue centre (Karingal Vet Hospital, 2022).
According to Vet Help Direct (2024), 60% have surrendered their cat to a rescue centre, with the main reasons being owners can no longer afford to keep them, whilst other reasons included behaviour, being overwhelmed with too many cats, health issues and personal circumstances changing i.e new baby or divorce.
3. Rabbits
Similar to cats, rabbits are being rehomed too, but are usually believed to be the best choice for families, as they teach children the responsibilities of looking after a pet before building up to a cat or dog (RSPCA, 2024a). Sadly, most owners do not necessarily realise the dangers of rabbits quickly breeding, thus they end up being dumped. Furthermore, the Blue Cross confirmed they have 95 calls a month to see if they could take their rabbit (2024a).
Should there be stricter laws in place when buying an animal?
Due to these unfortunate circumstances with pets many movements and charities seem to believe it would benefit the country to update legislation thus reducing this occurrence and take pet ownership more seriously. According to Blue Cross (2024b), they state ‘despite the UK being known as a nation of animal lovers, our laws are not up to scratch and simply don’t give pets the legal protection they need’. For instance, Austria, Switzerland, and Kenya, are just some of the few countries that are considered to have better legislation for pet welfare. Using Austria as an example, it is believed to be one of the strictest countries, with their Animal Welfare Act suggesting that animal protection is as valued as humankind, and visitors must respect animals as fellow creatures (Omer, 2023).
In connection with this, the RSPCA is also another establishment that believes the UK legislation needs to be changed urgently, especially with this rehoming epidemic. They believe that pet registration should be enforced due to the lack of government data on the amount of pet species that are owned in the UK. By having this data available, it could increase pet traceability whilst assisting the government to inform pet specific policies (RSPCA, 2024b).
Conversely, others believe this is not necessarily the way to combat this phenomenon due to individuals preferring their privacy, and if they could avoid this they will as they already are when taking their pet to the rescue centre. For example, this method was tested within a farm environment, but farmers were equally not keen on the idea of have a pet registration as they believe this should be private within the farm and not shared with government officials (Melgares, 2019).
Moreover, there is already a law in place regarding microchipping and this still does not seem to be deterring individuals from abandoning their pets. According to the Government website, it is a £500 fine if they are not microchipped (GOV.UK, 2024). However, still 1.9 million cats are not microchipped (Petrie, 2024), whilst 1.3 million dogs are not either (Burns, 2023).
Are rehoming centres to blame?
Despite rescue centres such as Blue Cross and the RSPCA believing government legislation is to blame, within England, there are roughly 1,000 rescue centres (Cosgrove, 2024), and every year, 250,000 animals go to these centres (UK Parliament, 2019). On 31st December 2023, it was recorded that 8,362 dogs and 6,771 cats were in that environment over Christmas (Loeb and Gray, 2024). But is this truly because homes cannot cope, or are rescue centres making it too easy to give up their pets, providing an illusion to members of the public that pets can be dumped any time they cannot cope, regardless of the reason? For example, a lot of rehoming centres do not fully know the background of the animals they have in their care as owners refuse to disclose all of the information because of privacy concerns. Some even pretend to pose as rescuers, claiming they have found the pet, in order to not share their personal details and avoid the responsibility or the shame of sending them away (McMullen, 2016).
Additionally, rescue centres receive money for the amount of animals that they take in from members of the public. For example, Pets at Home provide grants to organisations who solely rescue and rehome animals providing £250 or more to assist with vet bills, boarding fees, food, equipment and even building work (Pets Foundation, 2024).
Conversely, the RSCPA argue every year it costs them £140 million to run as a registered charity and this is not the case. The claim they receive 0.1% of government funding and solely rely on public donations. They also state that for every £1 they are provided 82p is spent on animal welfare, 1p is spent on governance and the rest is spent to raise the next £1. (RSPCA, 2021).
In conclusion…
Regardless of the species of animal every year there seems to be less and less homes for them, and now either being placed in rescue centres or being homeless seem to be the only two choices for them to live. To make matters worse on Christmas day the RSPCA alone receives over 700 calls about animals in need (RSPCA, 2024c).
However, until stronger legislation or alternatives are in place, the UK will seemingly fall behind in today’s modern world and may never be able to protect the animals that are constantly in the publics care. Until the Government open their eyes, to help ensure animals have forever homes, these animals will never know it is Christmas time, or experience what it truly means.
References
Blue Cross. (2024a). Blue Cross in the grip of rabbit abandonment crisis. [online] Available at: https://www.bluecross.org.uk/story/blue-cross-in-the-grip-of-rabbit-abandonment-crisis [Accessed 21 December 2024].
Blue Cross. (2024b). Why we need better laws to protect pets, their parents and potential owners. [online] Available at: https://www.bluecross.org.uk/why-we-need-better-laws-protect-pets-their-parents-and-potential-owners. [Accessed 21 December 2024].
Burns, C. (2023). Fine warning for dog owners as vets say ‘staggering’ number of pets still not microchipped. [online] InYourArea.co.uk. Available at: https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/fine-warning-for-dog-owners-as-vets-say-staggering-number-of-pets-still-not-microchipped [Accessed 23 December 2024].
Cosgrove, N. (2024). 14 UK Animal Shelter Statistics & Facts to Know In 2024: Benefits, Facts & More | PangoVet. [online] PangoVet. Available at: https://pangovet.com/statistics/animal-shelter-statistics-uk/. [Accessed 21 December 2024].
GOV.UK. (2024). Get your dog or cat microchipped. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/get-your-dog-cat-microchipped. [Accessed 23 December 2024].
Karingal Vet Hospital (2022). 8 Reasons Why Cats Make Great Pets. [online] Karingal Vet Hospital. Available at: https://www.karingalvet.com.au/8-reasons-why-cats-make-great-pets/. [Accessed 21 December 2024].
Loeb, J. and Gray, A. (2024). At crisis point: the challenges facing the UK’s rescue and rehoming sector. Veterinary Record, 194(9), pp.334–338. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.4227.
McMullen, D. (2016). Post: Rescuers Or Fanatics? The Dark Side Of Animal Rescue | Positively.com. [online] Positively.com. Available at: https://positively.com/dog-training/post/advocacy-rescuers-or-fanatics-the-dark-side-of-animal-rescue. [Accessed 21 December 2024].
Melgares, P. (2019). Benefits and challenges of animal traceability. [online] Morning Ag Clips. Available at: https://www.morningagclips.com/benefits-and-challenges-of-animal-traceability/. [Accessed 23 December 2024].
Novuna. (2023). 1 in 10 dogs in the UK rehomed in the last year. [online] Available at: https://www.novuna.co.uk/news-and-insights/business-cash-flow/1-in-10-dogs-in-the-uk-rehomed-in-the-last-year/. [Accessed 21 December 2024].
Omer, J. (2023). 5 Countries That Are Highly Rated for Animal Welfare. [online] Alpha Travel Insurance. Available at: https://www.alphatravelinsurance.co.uk/backpacker-travel-advice/travelling-backpacker-travel-advice/5-countries-that-are-highly-rated-for-animal-welfare/. [Accessed 21 December 2024].
Petrie, E. (2024). Cats must be microchipped by 10 June by owners in England. BBC News. [online] 8 Jun. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7221y677nqo. [Accessed 23 December 2024].
Pets Foundation. (2024). Grant Programme, Awards & Rescue Support | Pets Foundation. [online] Available at: https://www.petsfoundation.co.uk/grant-programme/ [Accessed 21 December 2024].
RSPCA (2021). Facts and Figures – RSPCA. [online] Rspca.org.uk. Available at: https://www.rspca.org.uk/whatwedo/latest/facts. [Accessed 21 December 2024].
RSPCA. (2024a). Oxfordshire Branch – Detail – rspca.org.uk – Do rabbits make good first pets for children? – RSPCA – rspca.org.uk. [online] Available at: https://www.rspca.org.uk/local/oxfordshire-branch/latest/detail?newsTitle=do-rabbits-make-good-first-pets-for-children&newsId=9644. [Accessed 21 December 2024].
RSPCA. (2024b). Full Response – Animal Futures | RSPCA – RSPCA – rspca.org.uk. [online] Available at: https://www.rspca.org.uk/whatwedo/latest/animalfutures/fullresponse [Accessed 21 December 2024].
RSPCA. (2024c). Join The Christmas Rescue – Winter Appeal | RSPCA – RSPCA – rspca.org.uk. [online] Available at: https://www.rspca.org.uk/jointherescue. [Accessed 21 December 2024].
UK Parliament. (2019). Animal Rescue Homes – Hansard. [online] Available at: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2019-02-26/debates/EC70319B-914E-408C-A987-7C4DE9D98F1E/AnimalRescueHomes. [Accessed 21 December 2024].
Vet Help Direct. (2024). Why are cats being relinquished to shelters, and what can be done about it? – Vet Help Direct. [online] Available at: https://vethelpdirect.com/vetblog/2024/10/09/why-are-cats-being-relinquished-to-shelters-and-what-can-be-done-about-it/#h-in-the-uk-we-don-t-see-quite-such-a-high-number-of-unwanted-cats [Accessed 21 Dec. 2024].
Woodgreen Pets Charity. (2024). Should I get a dog? What to think about. [online] Available at: https://woodgreen.org.uk/pet-advice/dog/should-i-get-a-dog-what-to-think-about/. [Accessed 21 December 2024].
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