Increased costs are putting a strain on animal shelters and pet owners

Bonn. The increased costs of veterinary treatments are putting animal shelters in a difficult position. More and more pet owners are turning to animal shelters for financial support for veterinary treatment, while at the same time more animals are being surrendered or abandoned for financial reasons. This is shown by the results of a survey by the German Animal Welfare Association. The animal shelters are under constant economic pressure, while there is a lack of political support from the federal government, as the German Animal Welfare Association criticizes.

Since the fee schedule for veterinarians (GOT) was comprehensively revised in 2022, many billing items have increased. Now published figures from the German Animal Welfare Association show that the number of animal owners who ask animal shelters for financial help with veterinary costs is increasing: around 80 percent of the animal protection associations surveyed confirm this trend. The number of people who apparently don't know what to do and abandon their animals is also increasing. 60 percent of animal shelters say that since the GOT was adjusted, they have increasingly had to take in lost animals that have most likely been abandoned. These animals are often old or sick, which makes them difficult to rehome.

The higher veterinary costs also affect the animal shelters directly: Almost 80 percent of the facilities surveyed report significant to very significant additional costs and put them at 30 to 50 percent – and more. “Without donations, the lights would have been turned off in many animal shelters long ago,” says Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Association. He criticizes the fact that the costs of caring for found animals are not fully covered by the municipalities and that there is a lack of help from the federal government. “Politicians are letting the animal shelters down!”

After years, the adjusted GOT has taken into account the expanded standards of veterinary medicine and the economic circumstances. From the perspective of the German Animal Welfare Association, this is an important measure to maintain veterinary practices, clinics and emergency services across the board. But since the GOT increase was accompanied by further cost increases in all areas of life, it hit animal shelters, animal protection associations and animal owners hard. The German Animal Welfare Association also sees a problem in the increasing takeover of veterinary clinics and practices by large chains that focus on economic profit. Dr. Romy Zeller, consultant for pets at the German Animal Welfare Association, recommends that pet owners find out about animal health insurance early on. At the same time, the German Animal Welfare Association is committed to relieving the burden on animal protection facilities in the planned reevaluation of the GOT.