Pandemic Causes Overflowing of Animal Shelters
The overflowing of animals in shelters over the past year can be credited to many things, but the main contributing factor is the coronavirus (National Public Radio). In the beginning of the pandemic, the adoption rate actually had a significant increase compared to years prior; according to a report from Shelter Animals Count, the adoption rate for dogs and cats increased 9 percent in 2020. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), since April of 2020, approximately one in five households acquired a cat or dog, which accounts for 23 million households according to the 2019 US Census. This increase in adoptions can be credited to the lockdown caused by coronavirus (COVID-19), when many people turned to pets for companionship. Due to their loyal nature, pets bring a reduction in depressive symptoms and anxiety (National Public Radio). This led to so many people trying to adopt pets that there was not enough for everyone; the Oregon Humane Society sometimes received 30 to 40 applications for a single puppy before it was adopted (NPR).
This has since changed, as there is an overflow of animals being returned to shelters as COVID-19 restrictions are eased. Their owners, who may have once been working from home, are now traveling and going back to work. This is causing them to return their pets to the shelters they got them from, forcing many to be overrun. Another reason the number of dogs and cats in shelters has risen sharply in recent months is that owners in low income communities have lost a job or their homes during the pandemic (Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control). Junior Sebastian Lange believes this is primarily to blame for the overflowing of animals after quarantine.
“The pandemic has played a big role in this problem because many individuals have lost a job,” Lange said. “They’d love to continue taking care of their pet, but it is impossible under their conditions. Pets are expensive to take good care of, and many are recognizing that they simply don’t have the facilities to do it.”
This rising number of animals in shelters is also affecting the animals’ behaviors. Numerous lost or abandoned animals end up in underfunded shelters, where they are often left to die from exposure, disease or fights with other animals (People for Ethical Treatment Animals). Many underfunded shelters are also considered “no-kill” shelters, in which they do not euthanize even those that they deem unadoptable. Even though they are not killed in these shelters, the animals who are put there may be in cages for years and become more withdrawn, depressed or aggressive (People for Ethical Treatment Animals). The massive overcrowding in these shelters is causing animals to exhibit these dangerous behaviors, and is yet another reason to take action against the problem. Freshman Avissa Khoshar is worried about the mental health of animals being put back into shelters.
“Either being very cramped or separated from the others can be very emotionally damaging to [the animals],” Khoshar said. “I noticed while picking up a guinea pig a few months ago [at the Harbor Animal Care Center] that the many animals clumped in one cage were visibly more upset [than other animals in normal populations].”
Experts are working tirelessly to resolve these issues, though. Many suggest a method of stopping overcrowding is if people would spay and neuter their pets, not allowing them to reproduce (FOX Eleven). This would drastically cut down the number of animals coming into the shelter, because less animals would be reproducing unwanted births. Overcrowding can also be reduced by increasing county funding for the shelters, as shelters require more money than allotted by county budgets. Shelters need donations and money from the public to get by, as a lot of problems stem from facilities (FOX 11). These problems include open access and accountability to the public, which can cause animals to not be seen and thus keep the shelter more crowded (ASPCA). A higher budget would allow for better accessibility and availability to visit and adopt animals. The extra money would also help facilities improve their resources for animals to stay, opening up room with more items like beds. Although the issue of animal overcrowding seems unconquerable, the numbers of animals could return to near normal if people take the steps to end it and spread awareness (World Animal Foundation).
“I firmly believe this issue can be resolved,” freshman Geno Futaña said. “There are so many ways to end the crisis, and I think people will start helping [to end the crisis] once they realize what is actually going on right now.”
