Christmas is in the air, which should be great news for everyone. Unfortunately, it’s not such great news for the RSPCA and many of our furry (or feathery, or scale-y) friends.
The RSPCA has revealed that it expects “thousands of animals” to be surrendered to their shelters across Australia over the Christmas period.
According to ABC there will be 27,000 animals under the RSPCA’s care over Christmas, with shelters across NSW and VIC reporting an influx of surrendered animals already.
While lots of animals were adopted from the RSPCA over COVID, many pets are still being sent to shelters.
Speaking to ABC, RSPCA Victoria’s Nadia Peiris said, “Our animal shelters are full — the last thing we need are more unwanted pets.”
She cited the cost of living crisis and lifestyle changes after the end of lockdowns as reasons for the influx.
There’s a few things you can do to help our poor animal friends down at the local RSPCA.
First of all, if you can afford it, you should totally swing the RSPCA a donation. They’re currently raising awareness for their Guardian Angel campaign. If you donate, you’ll receive details about the pet you’re helping out.
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Find out more information here.
If you have the time and space for it, you can also volunteer to be a foster carer for your local RSPCA. Ms. Peiris said the RSPCA is “desperate” for foster carers at the moment.
She told ABC, “A shelter is no place for an animal… An animal being able to spend their time in a home environment is going to be much better for their stress levels.”
There’s never any pressure to adopt the animal at the end of your fostering period, either. If you’d like to help out without the commitment of actually adopting a pet, fostering could be the answer.
Learn more about becoming a foster carer for the RSPCA here.
Lastly if you’re thinking about giving your loved one a pet for Christmas, I’d suggest thinking again. You can never really know for sure if your loved one is ready for a pet or not.
You don’t want to risk another innocent animal getting dropped at the RSPCA’s doorstep.
