60,000 abandons each summer: on this international day of the cat, the SPA is sounding the alarm in the midst of an upsurge in the abandonment of small felines, thousands of which are waiting for a new master in the association's shelters.
Since 2002, August 8 falls in the period when abandonments are the most frequent and where the shelters of the SPA have many animals, especially kittens. But the situation is even more acute this year with the coronavirus crisis.
Between May 11, the date of deconfinement, and August 2, 9,947 abandoned animals were collected in 62 shelters and SPA houses, including 1,450 kittens (0-3 months), she indicates. The National Confederation for the Defense of Animals, which brings together 270 associations, also considers "the situation, once again this year, very worrying for the kittens received in large numbers in its member shelters".
"Unfortunately, there is something for everyone"
“We have more cats in our shelters than in other years. The only explanation is the lack of sterilization in March and April. As we did not capture cats, we therefore have a lot of litters of kittens, ”explains Jacques-Charles Fombonne, president of the SPA. Summers pass and nothing changes: its shelters currently have 7600 animals, two thirds of cats, one third of dogs.
“As there are relatively few cat abandonments, it is mostly young litters that people find in their gardens and bring us,” he says. Jacques-Charles Fombonne is delighted, however, that adoptions continue during the summer, "even if the pace is less sustained than the rest of the year". “Instead of having 3,500 adoptions per month on the nominal average for the year, we have about 1,200 in July and August,” he notes.
“We are open, people are welcome to come and adopt. They will be given kittens at least three months old who have had their first vaccinations. They will have the choice between small cats, young people, old people, unfortunately there is something for everyone! "
Victims of going on vacation, moving, lack of time on the part of their owners or even impulsive purchases…, animals find themselves alone in the summer and without landmarks.
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Abandonment is a crime, punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of 30,000 euros.