Community & Business
23 June, 2023
Living costs add to animal woes
The cost of living crisis, rental crisis, backyard breeding and not desexing are putting a strain on local animal shelters with many having to house up to three large dogs in one kennel just to ensure a roof over their head.
The cost of living crisis, rental crisis, backyard breeding and not desexing are putting a strain on local animal shelters with many having to house up to three large dogs in one kennel just to ensure a roof over their head.
With lack of funding, space and foster carers, abandoned animals are putting a strain on all facilities across the region with no end to the influx in sight.
Newly established animal rescue Remote Animal Assistance FNQ has had to put several pleas out on their Facebook for foster carers, with many of their residents being on their last days before euthanasia.
Founder Jess Flemming said the main reason her rescue is experiencing an influx in surrenders is inevitably the rental crisis. “One of the main reasons we’re experiencing so many surrender requests and seeing so many surrenders to the pounds is because of the current rental crisis,” she said.
“Some people who’ve had to move houses are finding it near impossible to secure an aff ordable rental that allows pets, and even if the rental does allow pets on paper, owning pets makes them less competitive against people who don’t.
“With the high rental prices and cost of living, sometimes the only way to keep a roof over their heads is to give up their pet, and that’s really heartbreaking.”
For the Mareeba Animal Refuge, which is one of the largest rescues on the Tablelands, their kennels are constantly occupied with two or three dogs due to the number of surrenders coming in daily.
Although they still get a lot of adoptions, the number of surrenders is constantly higher according to staff member Felicity Pollard.
“We are still getting a good number of adoptions it just doesn’t seem that way as there is so many more coming in - we adopt one kitty and then get a whole litter in the next day, one dog goes and we get a call for several more surrenders,” she said.
The perpetrator for the influx of homeless pets in Ms Pollard’s opinion is the backyard breeding epidemic and the lack of desexed animals.
“Lots of people are still supporting backyard breeders for cheaper or free pets instead of rescues or responsible breeders,” she said.
“We see lots of puppies coming from backyard breeders who thought they would be making money off them, but nobody wants them and they get dumped on us.
“We especially see dozens of litters of kittens every few months from people simply not desexing their pets and leaving them to wander.
“There is still so much ignorance about the importance and benefits of desexing your animals. Desexing can prevent certain cancers, reduce fighting and wandering habits and of course all those unwanted animals!”
The solution to the “never ending cycle” of pets being abandoned and surrendered in the opinion of both Ms Pollard and Ms Flemming is education for landlords and property owners.
“I think the solution might be educating property owners on the struggles that pet owners are facing, and encouraging them to be more open-minded and trusting when it comes to allowing animals at their rentals,” Ms Flemming said.
“We’ve also had foster carers come forward who then have to retract their application because their landlords won’t allow pets. If we could just get landlords to be a little more flexible, this might help the situation. Another option might be for pet owners to reach out for a private foster carer, where someone else looks after their pet while they work to secure a pet-friendly rental.
“I know when we have advertised dogs on our page that have been surrendered due to the rental crisis, sometimes people come forward and say they’ll look after the dog while the owner is securing their accommodation.”
For more information on adoptions or to meet the residents, visit www.remoteanimalassistance.com/adopt and www.facebook.com/MareebaAnimalRefuge
