Full animal shelters can no longer manage the delivery requirements.
Bonn. While the number of people who want to hand in their cat or dog does not tear off, the animal shelters often lack capacity to adopt all unwanted animals. Reasons for the owner's delivery request are mostly overwhelmed, lack of time, biting incidents or increased veterinary costs.
“If people want to or have to give up their pets, animal shelters are the first point of contact. At the same time, animal shelters take care of animals found and controlled. In many animal shelters, however, there is currently no space to record submission animals immediately. Only 18 percent of the animal shelters still have capacity. There are often waiting times for a place to be released. In particular, old, sick people and striking animals in particular take animal shelter spaces for a long time until new owners can be found.
Responsible mediation in the right home
If there is no animal shelter, even after intensive searches, the German animal protection association recommends a private mediation within their own family, in the circle of friends or acquaintances, possibly also via notices in the neighborhood or advertisements in the local press. “You should make sure that the animal comes into a good home and look at the housing conditions. Animal and interests have to get to know each other beforehand,” says Schmitz. The German Animal Welfare Association, on the other hand, warns of sales via classified ads on the Internet: “Anyone who offers their animal online throughout Germany does not know which hands will get into. Animals quickly become challenge cups that are passed on or sold several times. A tragedy for the animals.” Anyone who exposes their animal is not only irresponsible, they also commit an administrative offense. There is a risk of a fine of up to 20,000 euros. If the animal is seriously damaged by the abandon, it is even a criminal offense; The sentence is up to three years in prison.
But where to go with an animal for which there is no new owner? “In the end, the owner himself is and remains responsible for the animal that he has bought. He has to take care of his animal – until a solution can be found.” The best thing is, of course, not to get into this difficult situation at all. “In view of the full shelters, it is more important, because ever to rethink the purchase of an animal well,” says Schmitz.
Politics must relieve animal shelters
The cause of the critical location of the animal shelters is the policy that has abandoned the homes for decades and promoted too little. While there is a lack of financial resources for new and conversions and staff, the “replenishment” of unwanted animals, which were rash and often without any expertise of the owner, do not tear off in the shelter. The lack of a castration obligation for free -range cats also contributes to an overcrowding with undesirable growth growth as well as find cats and orphaned kittens of street cats. In order to relieve the animal shelters, the German Animal Welfare Association therefore calls for a ban on online trading with animals, confirming labeling and registration for dogs and cats, a confirming certificate of material before buying animals and a nationwide castration for cats with free access. The 80 million euros for animal shelters, which, according to an AG paper of the Union and SPD negotiators, should be available in the upcoming legislative period, are imperative to protect practical animal protection from the collapse.