It is a sad assessment that draws up the SPA.
The association announced on Monday that it had taken care of 44,199 abandoned animals in 2022, almost equaling a 2019 record. Among them, there are 27,940 cats.
In addition to small felines, the Society for the Protection of Animals last year housed 13,373 dogs, 160 equids and 2,726 new pets or NACs (rabbits, guinea pigs, gerbils, etc.), as well as farm animals, in its 63 shelters and SPA houses.
On the adoption side, 41,186 animals found a new master, including 26,024 cats, 12,646 dogs and 2,389 NAC.
This is “a number of adoptions close to the 2019 record and an increase of 2.6% compared to 2021”, counted the SPA in a press release.
The SPA is also concerned about having to deal with an emerging difficulty in recent years, that of dogs with special needs.
They represent about 20% of its residents and it is difficult to entrust them to inexperienced masters.
"The acquisition of certain fashionable dogs with specific needs (such as the Australian Shepherd, the Belgian Shepherd, the Malinois, the American Staffordshire terrier, etc.) requires specific knowledge and attention to which not all masters are necessarily able to respond.
The SPA fears the consequences of inflation
Animal advocates also deplore the resurgence of NAC abandonments, up 34% since
2019
. the law on animal abuse, prohibiting the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores from 2024, be extended to these animals”.
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“This activity report suggests an important year in 2023 in terms of challenges to be met.
The fear of the consequences of inflation on the resources of the SPA - which lives only on the generosity of the public - and on the activity of the shelters is present”, worries Jacques-Charles Fombonne, its president.
The year 2022 has also been intense on the animal abuse front.
The SPA processed 23,800 reports in 2022, an increase of 52%.
To fulfill this mission, the SPA has notably recruited more than 250 investigating delegates in order to strengthen the territorial network.
The SPA's Animal Protection and Investigations legal departments were thus able to save 4,400 mistreated animals.
