The numbers are down from last year and that’s good news. The shelters of the SPA (Society for the Protection of Animals) took in fewer abandoned animals in the first quarter of 2021, with a drop of more than 20% in the number of dogs recovered in its 62 establishments, indicates the association this Saturday.

“People went on vacation less” during the first months of 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions, commented Jacques-Charles Fombonne, the president of the SPA, to explain the drop in dropouts from dogs (-22% compared to the first quarter of 2020). “For the dogs, it is a question of real abandonment. For cats, it’s often kittens that people find in their garage, ”he said.

The fear of the summer period

The number of cats taken in shelters is almost stable (+ 2%). On the adoptions side, the figures remained stable during the first three months of 2021 compared to the same period of 2020.

“We do as during the first confinement (Editor’s note: in March 2020) where we had placed 998 animals. We take the same precautions in terms of responsible adoption. And we are all the more careful to give animals to people who show that they really want them, ”says Jacques-Charles Fombonne. “SOS” adoptions have increased by nearly 20%. They concern “animals that are difficult to place: old dogs, old cats, inconvenient or sick animals,” said the president of the SPA.

For life after confinement, Jacques-Charles Fombonne says he is “confident”. Even if he fears “this summer an upsurge in drop-outs compared to last year, when people will want to go on vacation