XX YEARLY SURVEY ON ABANDONMENT
According to the Yearly Survey on Abandonment 0 carried out by the Affinity Foundation, during the past year, 2006, city councils and diverse societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals removed approximately 102.000 dogs from the streets.
Such a survey, the most complete one ever done up to now at a national level, is based on a yearly poll carried out by the Affinity Foundation, involving municipalities of more than 10.000 inhabitants and diverse animal protecting societies. This year, the poll covered 600 municipalities and 200 animal protecting societies.
The total number of animals removed from the streets includes different cases:
- Some are lost animals that have been given back to their owners
- Others have been adopted by new families
- Others continue to live at the kennels or animal homes, awaiting a new opportunity
- And, finally, the most unfortunate ones have been victims of euthanasia, either because of health hazards or in keeping with the policy pursued by the different town councils or sheltering centres.
Numbers per communities
During 2006, the autonomous communities in which more animals were removed from the streets were, once again, Andalusia, Catalonia and Madrid. Asturias, Navarre and Aragon were, also once again, the Spanish communities showing the lowest abandonment rates.
Numbers per four-month periods
La incidence of abandonment is very similar in the different months of the year. Contrary to what is generally assumed, the three four-month periods of the year show very similar percentages: 34%, 35% and 31%, respectively, of all the animals abandoned over the whole year.
These data confirm the fact that animals are not abandoned mainly in summer, when families are considering what to do with their pets during their holidays, but that there are the same abandonment rate all over the year. There are many reasons for which animals are abandoned, but, in most cases, abandonment affects unwanted litters of puppies and crossbreed dogs.
How to avoid losing your pets
Very often, the animals that get lost and cannot be found by their owners are entered on the list of “abandoned” animals. In order to prevent it from happening, it is important for pets’ owners to take a few simple steps:
- If our pet is wearing a microchip, the first thing we have to do is call the Official College of Veterinary Surgeons of the province in which our dog or our cat has got lost.
- Later, we must notify the missing animal to the municipal police in the town where the animal got lost and in nearby towns, within a radius of 30 kilometres.
- It is important to get into contact with the animal protecting societies and municipal kennels located within the area surrounding the place where our pet got lost (within a radius of 50 kilometres).
- Finally, it can also be of great help to get into contact with the veterinary surgeons working in our town as well as in surrounding towns.
- Likewise, the Internet can be a very useful tool which might help us to track down the whereabouts of our dog or cat. We can enter the data about the missing animal by filling in the forms that appear for that purpose on the www.acogelos.org, www.lacoordinadora.org and www.artero.com/reencuentro websites.
At the present time, one of the most reliable ways to identify animals is the microchip, a very useful tool in order to recover a lost animal. Its use is obligatory and it is an indispensable requisite if we want to travel around Europe with our pet. It has to be inserted by a veterinary surgeon under the skin and in the region of the animal’s neck. It is a simple and painless process. This way, if the animal gets lost and is found by someone and brought to a police station or an animal protecting society, thanks to the microchip, the College of Veterinary Surgeons of the province will be able to easily find out the owner’s whereabouts.
Education against abandonment: advice notes to be read before you buy a pet
For the Affinity Foundation, education and appealing to the moral conscience of the population is the only way to eradicate abandonment; for that reason, before you decide to buy or to adopt an animal, we recommend you to think certain things over:
- You have to be aware that a pet is not a toy. It is a living creature that deserves to be respected and has concrete physical and emotional needs, and you must be sure that you will be capable of satisfying them.
- You must know that each animal has a character of its own, depending on his breed, his age and the education he has received from his former owners.
- You must decide very thoughtfully if you really want a dog or a cat, taking into consideration which animal would be better adapted to your lifestyle.
- If you are thinking of buying a particular breed, you should get information concerning its special characteristics. It is important to know the peculiarities of the breed you have chosen, and of the special care the animal might need, etc...
- You should make sure you have enough space and time at your disposal to look after your pet properly (to take him out for a walk, to clean him, to play with him, etc...)
- You have to be aware that you will have to take care of your pet during many years and that this will cost you money and time.
Besides, so as to either dispel or confirm possible doubts, the Affinity Foundation recommends you to take the following steps:
- Fill in the Questionnaire on your aptitude for having a pet
- Seek the advice of a veterinary surgeon. A veterinary surgeon is an expert and he can give you the most reliable counsel.
- Visit kennels
- Visit breeding places and animal shops
- Reach a consensus with your whole family on the decision you are going to take so that they could all involve themselves in caring for the pet
- Read the Rights of animals and their owners booklet
Once you have bought the animal, you should not forget:
- To make frequent visits to your veterinary surgeon and to respect the animal’s vaccination schedule
- To seek the advice of your veterinary surgeon about methods of contraception, in order to prevent the unwanted birth of puppies
- To involve all the members of the family , who should participate in the education of the animals and share responsibility for them
- To seek information about how to look after an animal so as to be capable of practising responsible fatherhood
- To learn, together with the other members of the family the Basic orders of obedience
- To respect the Rights of animals and their owners
- To enjoy the company of your pets
- To be informed about useful facts , such as, for example, the places or hotels which your pets are admitted to
- To vindicate the right of pet owning families (that amount to approximately 25% in Spain) to have the use of a fourth of all public spaces
- To vindicate the right of pet owning families to use public transport, as it is customary in most European countries.
