While the number of people who want to relinquish their cat or dog shows no sign of abating, animal shelters often lack the capacity to take in all unwanted animals. The reasons for owners wanting to surrender their pets are usually excessive demands, lack of time, biting incidents or increased veterinary costs.
“When people want or have to give up their pets, animal shelters are the first port of call. At the same time, animal shelters look after animals that have been found and confiscated by the authorities. They therefore have a systemically relevant function in our society,” explains Lea Schmitz, spokesperson for the German Animal Welfare Federation. However, many animal shelters currently lack the space to take in surrendered animals immediately. Only 18 percent of animal shelters still have capacity. There are often waiting times until a place becomes available. Old, sick and behaving animals in particular sometimes occupy shelter places for a long time until new owners can be found.
RESPONSIBLE PLACEMENT IN A SUITABLE HOME
If no shelter space can be found even after an intensive search, the German Animal Welfare Federation recommends that owners find a private placement within their own family, among friends or acquaintances, possibly also via notices in the neighborhood or advertisements in the local press. “You should make sure that the animal goes to a good home and look at the conditions in which it is kept. The animal and the prospective buyer must get to know each other beforehand,” says Schmitz.
However, the German Animal Welfare Federation warns against selling animals via classified ad portals on the internet: “If you offer your animal online across Germany, you don't know which hands it will end up in. Animals quickly become traveling trophies that are passed on or sold several times. A tragedy for the animals.” Anyone who abandons their animal is not only acting irresponsibly, but is also committing an administrative offense. You could face a fine of up to 20,000 euros. If the animal is seriously harmed by the abandonment, it is even a criminal offense; the penalty is up to three years in prison.
But what to do with an animal for which no new owner can be found? “Ultimately, the owner is and remains responsible for the animal they have acquired. They have to look after their animal - until a solution can be found.” Of course, it is best not to get into this difficult situation in the first place. “In view of the full animal shelters, it is more important than ever to think carefully about acquiring an animal,” says Schmitz.
POLITICIANS MUST RELIEVE THE BURDEN ON ANIMAL SHELTERS
The reason for the critical situation of animal shelters is politics, which has let shelters down for decades and provided too little support. While there is a lack of financial resources for new buildings and renovations as well as staff, the “supply” of unwanted animals, which were acquired thoughtlessly and often without any knowledge of the owner, does not stop at the animal shelter. The lack of a Germany-wide neutering obligation for outdoor cats also contributes to an overpopulation of unwanted offspring as well as found cats and orphaned kittens from street cats.
In order to relieve the burden on animal shelters, the German Animal Welfare Federation is therefore calling for a ban on online animal trading, mandatory identification and registration for dogs and cats, a mandatory certificate of competence before acquiring an animal and a nationwide neutering requirement for outdoor cats. The 80 million euros for animal shelters, which according to a working group paper by the CDU/CSU and SPD negotiators are to be made available in the coming legislative period, are urgently needed to prevent practical animal welfare from collapsing.
