Understanding Animal Companion Surplus in the United States: Relinquishment of Nonadoptables to Animal Shelters for Euthanasia

Relinquishing a nonhuman animal to a shelter is a complex decision that, it is often believed, ultimately may represent a breakdown of the human-animal bond. The result of such a breakdown is an animal companion surplus in the United States, which is no better evidenced than by the statistics documenting the millions of animals euthanized at shelters every year. This research examined the companion animals who are relinquished by their owners to shelters for adoption and compared them specifically to those relinquished for euthanasia. The study also compared the owner characteristics of the animals in these two groups. Although the majority of dogs and cats relinquished are clearly adoptable, a sizable number of these pets presented to shelters for euthanasia have problems precluding their adoptability: old age, illness, and refractory behavior.     

Understanding Animal Companion Surplus in the United States: Relinquishment of Nonadoptables to Animal Shelters for Euthanasia

Relinquishing a nonhuman animal to a shelter is a complex decision that, it is often believed, ultimately may represent a breakdown of the human-animal bond. The result of such a breakdown is an animal companion surplus in the United States, which is no better evidenced than by the statistics documenting the millions of animals euthanized at shelters every year. This research examined the companion animals who are relinquished by their owners to shelters for adoption and compared them specifically to those relinquished for euthanasia. The study also compared the owner characteristics of the animals in these two groups. Although the majority of dogs and cats relinquished are clearly adoptable, a sizable number of these pets presented to shelters for euthanasia have problems precluding their adoptability: old age, illness, and refractory behavior.     

Human and animal factors related to relinquishment of dogs and cats in 12 selected animal shelters in the United States

Since the 1940s, perceived companion animal overpopulation in the United States has been an important issue to the animal welfare community (Moulton, Wright, & Rinky, 1991). This surplus of animals has resulted in millions of dogs and cats being euthanized annually in animal shelters across the country. The nature and scope of this problem have been notoriously difficult to characterize. The number of animal shelters in the United Stares, the demographics of the population of animals passing through them, and the characteristics of per owners relinquishing animals are poorly understood. What portion of these animals are adopted or euthanized, why they are relinquished, and their source of acquisition are all questions for which there have been little data. Consequently, we are no closer to answering the fundamental question of how and why many animals are destroyed each year in shelters (Arkow, 1994).     

Admissions of Cats to Animal Welfare Shelters in Melbourne,Australia

Although the number of companion animal (pet) cats (Felis catus) in Australia is decreasing, there has not been a corresponding reduction in feline admissions to nonhuman animal welfare shelters. This study tracked 15,206 cat admissions to 1 large Melbourne shelter over a 12-month period. Data collected included factors believed indicative of the cats' source subpopulation, including body condition, injuries, and sociability. The majority (81.6%) of admissions were strays. Overall desexing levels were low (4%), even among caregiver (owner)-relinquished cats (12.8%). The high sociability of many stray cats and kittens suggests that many may be “semiowned” animals. Colony cats were typically thinner and in poorer health than other admissions. The pattern of kitten admissions suggests that many queens are producing 2 litters per season. The majority of cats admitted were euthanized, indicating that there is an oversupply of cats in Melbourne, Australia, and that strategies to reduce the euthanasia rate need to target the subpopulations of cats who contribute to the current oversupply.     

Dogs and Cats in Animal Shelters in Japan

ABSTRACT

Although there are proportionately fewer pet owners in Japan than in the United States, the keeping of indigenous Japanese dog breeds, along with those common in Europe and North America, is long-established. Japan has a centralized governmental network of animal shelters, which permits accurate record-keeping of the numbers of dogs and cats admitted, reclaimed, and euthanized. Although in the United States an accurate census is not simple to accomplish because a variety of humane societies and animal control agencies admit homeless dogs and cats, some cultural comparisons are possible.

Despite recent increases in petkeeping in Japan, the numbers of dogs admitted to shelters have decreased from 345,136 dogs in 1984 to 243, 753 dogs in 1994. The numbers euthanized show similar declines, from 331,442 in 1984 to 219,831 in 1994. In the city of Tokyo, kittens account for the majority of the animals admitted: 34,745 kittens (55%) of a total of 62,803 dogs and cats in 1980; 12,805 kittens (61%) of a total of 21,075 in 1993. Cats usually are brought in after being found on the street and are not reclaimed by their owners; virtually all are euthanized. Most dogs, 61%, are caught as strays by shelter personnel. Among those admitted to Tokyo shelters, 41% are reclaimed or returned to the owner, 7% are adopted by new owners, and 52% are euthanized.

Spaying and neutering of dogs and cats are not wide spread practices in Japan. There are few private shelters; the government provides no tax incentives for charitable contributions to such organizations. While American shelters invariably offer animals for adoption, most of Japan's governmental shelters do not. However, this is gradually changing.     

A Comparison of Attachment Levels of Adopters of Cats: Fee-Based Adoptions Versus Free Adoptions

Nonhuman animal welfare professionals have been critical of adoption programs that do not charge a fee for adult cats, despite the high euthanasia rate for cats due to a reported lack of homes. The argument against the free cat adoptions cites a devaluation of the cat, which may affect the adopter's perceived value of the cat and subsequent care. It may also attract low-income adopters who are perceived as unable to fulfill the financial responsibility of acting as caregiver (owner) of a companion animal (pet). This study examined adopters' attachment to their cats in relation to the payment or waiver of an adoption fee using the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale and perception of the shelter. No significant differences were found between groups on either measure. Programs such as this create an opportunity to positively affect cats in animal shelters by finding more homes; programs such as this also affect cat overpopulation by putting more altered cats into the community.     

Impact of a bilingual mobile spay/neuter clinic in a U.S./Mexico border city

There are between 4 and 10 million dogs and cats killed annually in the United States. Although there are no accurate national estimates of the number of companion animals who are sterilized surgically. Approximately 26,000 companion animals are euthanized annually in El Paso County, Texas, located on the U.S./Mexico border. In an effort to determine if a readily available spay/neuter program would be cost effective and eventually help to lower the county's euthanasia rate, a mobile spay/neuter clinic began operation for a 5-month period in 2004, using a volunteer veterinarian and paid staff. Sterilizations performed totaled 1,108: 959 dogs (372 males and 587 females) and 149 cats (50 males and 99 females). The per companion animal sterilization cost of $15.13 ($27.83 had the veterinarian been paid) was considerably cheaper than the rate of $57 per companion animal achieved by a local voucher program contracting with private veterinarians to perform reduced-cost sterilizations.     

Putting (Big) Black Dog Syndrome to the Test: Evidence from a Large Metropolitan Shelter

Most support for Black Dog Syndrome or Big Black Dog Syndrome is anecdotal or theoretical. Yet some animal shelters/organizations have implemented strategies to address what they believe are lower rates of adoption and/or higher rates of euthanasia for “Big Black Dogs.” This study examines the persistent anecdotes and theories on humans’ preferences and aversions to dogs of various shades, using hierarchical multinomial logistic regression to predict outcomes for an analytic sample of 7,440 dogs from 2010–2011 in an urban, public animal shelter serving Louisville, Kentucky, USA. The relationship between coat shade and dog outcomes was not straightforward; while no relationship existed at the bivariate level, after controls were added, entirely black dogs showed somewhat lower odds of adoption—and higher euthanasia risk—than those characterized as secondarily black or sans black. Breed category, breed size, and purebred status were stronger predictors of dog outcomes than coat shade. Big Black Dog Syndrome was not supported by these data; smaller dogs were more likely to be euthanized if they were partly or wholly black. These findings may offer nuances to adoption strategies employed by shelters/organizations, help make better use of resources, and, perhaps, improve the likelihood of homing or rehoming shelter animals.     

Trends in sheltering and welfare at the Hawaiian Humane Society, Oahu, Hawaii

One of the major goals of an animal welfare organization is to reduce the number of homeless, nonhuman animals in a community. In Hawaii, the Hawaiian Humane Society has provided numerous animal welfare services to work toward this goal, such as offering sterilizations and microchipping at reduced rates and facilitating animal adoptions and education. In addition, the Leash Law and the Cat Identification Program have increased animal welfare through increasing the responsibilities of companion animal caregivers (owners). The goal of this research was to assess if temporal changes in animal sheltering have occurred in Hawaii. The study assessed this by analyzing historical data on dogs (Canis familiaris) and cats (Felis catus) admitted, returned to owner, sterilized, euthanized, and adopted from the Humane Societies of Oahu, Hawaii, from 1993 to 2008. The study also analyzed dog and cat admittance and Honolulu population growth from 1975 to 2008. Sterilizations and pets returned to owners have increased significantly, whereas admittance and euthanasia rates have decreased significantly. Thus, although these data cannot conclusively state that there are fewer homeless animals in Hawaii, the results provide positive indicators of reducing homeless pets, especially when coupled with an increase in both the human population of Honolulu County and dog ownership.     

Quantifying the Shelter Rabbit Population: An Analysis of Massachusetts and Rhode Island Animal Shelters

Scholarly work on the nonhuman animal shelter population has widely focused on cats and dogs. As a result, little is known about the population dynamics of domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in shelters. The records from 4 companion animal shelters in Massachusetts and Rhode Island were analyzed to describe these dynamics. A majority of the rabbits at the 4 shelters were surrendered by their caregivers, were between 1 and 6 years old, and were unaltered at the time of intake. The most common reasons for surrender were the caregivers' inability to care for the rabbits or a lack of interest in doing so. Over half of the total rabbit population was subsequently adopted and the overall live release rate (percentage of rabbits leaving the shelter alive) was 75.54%. In some cases, the use of a foster care system was correlated with a decrease in the euthanasia rate. The results from this study will help the sheltering field clarify the scope of the problem of homeless rabbits.     

Trends in Sheltering and Welfare at the Hawaiian Humane Society,Oahu, Hawaii

One of the major goals of an animal welfare organization is to reduce the number of homeless, nonhuman animals in a community. In Hawaii, the Hawaiian Humane Society has provided numerous animal welfare services to work toward this goal, such as offering sterilizations and microchipping at reduced rates and facilitating animal adoptions and education. In addition, the Leash Law and the Cat Identification Program have increased animal welfare through increasing the responsibilities of companion animal caregivers (owners). The goal of this research was to assess if temporal changes in animal sheltering have occurred in Hawaii. The study assessed this by analyzing historical data on dogs (Canis familiaris) and cats (Felis catus) admitted, returned to owner, sterilized, euthanized, and adopted from the Humane Societies of Oahu, Hawaii, from 1993 to 2008. The study also analyzed dog and cat admittance and Honolulu population growth from 1975 to 2008. Sterilizations and pets returned to owners have increased significantly, whereas admittance and euthanasia rates have decreased significantly. Thus, although these data cannot conclusively state that there are fewer homeless animals in Hawaii, the results provide positive indicators of reducing homeless pets, especially when coupled with an increase in both the human population of Honolulu County and dog ownership.     

Population dynamics, overpopulation, and the welfare of companion animals: new insights on old and new data

Americans profess a great love for their companion animals, and, indeed, their expenditures on food and other products for their dogs and cats would seem to confirm this. However, each year, many millions of dogs and cats are brought to animal shelters, where the majority are euthanized. Our inability to provide reasonably valid statistics related to this concern makes it difficult to offer a credible presentation on the need for a concerted effort to deal with the issue, design initiatives to ameliorate the problem, or evaluate progress and performance of these efforts. In this article we review some of the past efforts to document the scale of the “pet overpopulation ”problem. We reexamine long-term shelter statistics from a single shelter system and present new data that reflect a recent cooperative effort to understand the origins and disposition of dogs and cats received by animal shelters.     

Impact of the economic recession on companion animal relinquishment, adoption, and euthanasia: a Chicago animal shelter's experience

This study investigated how the current economic recession (since December 2007) has affected dog and cat relinquishment, adoption, and euthanasia at the Anti-Cruelty Society animal shelter in Chicago, Illinois. The study compared temporal patterns of the investigated statistics before (2000-2007) the start of the current recession with the patterns after the start of the recession (2008-2010). The results showed that once the guardianship (ownership) of a nonhuman animal had been established, the recession did not greatly affect the owner's decision on relinquishment-except for the relinquishment of senior dogs, which may be associated with increased costs of care. However, an unfavorable economic environment may have reduced adoption of animals. The consequences of a decline in adoptions might be reflected in an increase in the proportion or number of sheltered animals euthanized. This study demonstrated how monitoring changes in temporal patterns in these shelter statistics can help guide animal shelters to better prepare for the current recession.     

Factors Influencing Time to Adoption for Dogs in a Provincial Shelter System in Canada

Millions of companion animals are relinquished to shelters each year. For each dog entering, their characteristics and the characteristics of the shelter holding him/her influence their time to adoption. Using a Cox proportional hazards frailty model, these issues were explored using data from 31 shelters within the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter system. Results indicated that surrender reason, age, original source, coat color, breed, human population density of the shelter location, and year the nonhuman animal entered the shelter significantly influenced time to adoption. This study identified characteristics of dogs that make them less likely to be adopted quickly. Given limited resources, these results may help inform shelters on how to best allocate resources, particularly in interventions to improve adoption rates in shelters.     

Trends in Intake and Outcome Data for Animal Shelters in a Large U.S. Metropolitan Area, 1989 to 2010

Trends in nonhuman animal shelter intake and outcomes for dogs and cats in Metro Denver, CO, between 1989 and 2010 were assessed by linear regression analyses of data from 4 of the largest facilities covering 3 counties. The data were analyzed for trends on 3 scales: actual numbers per year, number per 1,000 residents per year, and as a percentage of total intake. Approximately 21,000 dogs and 16,000 cats were taken into the shelters in 2010, representing a 24% decrease for each since 1989. For dogs on a per-1,000-residents basis, intake decreased by 44%, euthanasia by 77%, and adoption by 13%; the live release rate (LRR) increased by 39%. For cats on the same scale, there was a 53% decrease in intake until 1998 followed by an 11% increase through 2010, and an 82% decrease in euthanasia until 2000 followed by a 24% increase through 2010. Adoption of cats per 1,000 residents remained unchanged, but the overall LRR for cats doubled during the study period. Substantially increasing trends in the transfer of dogs and cats from shelters to rescue organizations reflect efforts to optimize adoptions.     

Cross-Sectional Study of Characteristics of Owners and Nonowners Surrendering Cats to Four Australian Animal Shelters

Unwanted cats surrendered to nonhuman animal shelters are generally categorized as either “owned” or “stray.” This classification is misleading because “stray” cats may include many “semiowned” cats, for which people provide care but who are not perceived as being owned. This differentiation is important because effective strategies designed to reduce cat admissions to, and euthanasia rates in, shelters rely on accurate information about cat populations contributing to shelter intake; cat semiowners will likely respond to different strategies than people with no relationship with the cats they surrender. People surrendering cats to four Australian animal shelters were surveyed to identify factors associated with perception of ownership. Many self-classified nonowners had fed the cats they surrendered, often for a considerable period of time. The factor most strongly associated with ownership perception was an increasing association time with the cat. These findings confirm that enduring relationships between surrenderers and cats, consistent with cat semiownership, are common for cats surrendered to Australian animal shelters. This finding should be taken into account when planning education messages and cat population management strategies aimed at reducing cat admissions.     

No Dog Left Behind: A Hedonic Pricing Model for Animal Shelters

Companion animal overpopulation is a growing problem in the United States. In addition to strays, an average of 324,500 nonhuman animals are relinquished to shelters yearly by their caregivers due to family disruption (divorce, death), foreclosure, economic problems, or minor behavioral issues. As a result, estimates of animals in shelters range from 3 million to 8 million, and due to overcrowding, euthanasia is common. This analysis seeks to determine the appropriate pricing mechanisms to clear animal shelters of dogs in the manner most desirable—that is, through adoption. Based on a survey of Michigan residents, it is clear there are a number of correlations between the traits of dogs and the individuals who care for them. Hedonic pricing models indicate that animal shelters need to proactively vary their pricing systems to discount particular traits, specifically for mixed-breed, older, and black dogs. Premiums can be charged for puppies, purebred dogs, and those who have received specific services such as microchipping.     

Impact of the Economic Recession on Companion Animal Relinquishment,Adoption, and Euthanasia: A Chicago Animal Shelter's Experience

This study investigated how the current economic recession (since December 2007) has affected dog and cat relinquishment, adoption, and euthanasia at the Anti-Cruelty Society animal shelter in Chicago, Illinois. The study compared temporal patterns of the investigated statistics before (2000–2007) the start of the current recession with the patterns after the start of the recession (2008–2010). The results showed that once the guardianship (ownership) of a nonhuman animal had been established, the recession did not greatly affect the owner's decision on relinquishment—except for the relinquishment of senior dogs, which may be associated with increased costs of care. However, an unfavorable economic environment may have reduced adoption of animals. The consequences of a decline in adoptions might be reflected in an increase in the proportion or number of sheltered animals euthanized. This study demonstrated how monitoring changes in temporal patterns in these shelter statistics can help guide animal shelters to better prepare for the current recession.     

Animal protection measures in Taiwan: Taiwanese attitudes toward the animal protection law and animal shelters

This study used a questionnaire, self-administered by 387 Taiwanese citizens, to assess Taiwanese perception and knowledge of the Animal Protection Law and perception and use of animal shelters. Most respondents (87%) knew that Taiwan has legal protection for animals. A -5 to 5 summary score measured knowledge of companion animal dog-related legal requirements. The median score was 3, indicating that almost all respondents had inadequate knowledge about these requirements. Although more dog caregivers had adequate knowledge of the law than did nondog caregivers (prevalence ratio = 1.9, 95% confidence interval: 1.1, 3.2), only 19% had adequate knowledge. Although most respondents (81%) knew Taiwan has animal shelters, only 19 (5%) reported visiting or participating in shelter activities. Only 6 (32%) of shelter visitors or users had a “good or better ”impression of services received. Despite low usage of animal shelters, most respondents thought shelters should accept (87%) and relocate (90%) unwanted animals, capture strays (64%), assist in finding lost pets (79%), and educate the public about responsible ownership (85%). More than half (52%) thought shelters should perform euthanasia.     

Animal Protection Measures in Taiwan: Taiwanese Attitudes Toward the Animal Protection Law and Animal Shelters

This study used a questionnaire, self-administered by 387 Taiwanese citizens, to assess Taiwanese perception and knowledge of the Animal Protection Law and perception and use of animal shelters. Most respondents (87%) knew that Taiwan has legal protection for animals. A –5 to 5 summary score measured knowledge of companion animal dog-related legal requirements. The median score was 3, indicating that almost all respondents had inadequate knowledge about these requirements. Although more dog caregivers had adequate knowledge of the law than did nondog caregivers (prevalence ratio = 1.9, 95% confidence interval: 1.1, 3.2), only 19% had adequate knowledge. Although most respondents (81%) knew Taiwan has animal shelters, only 19 (5%) reported visiting or participating in shelter activities. Only 6 (32%) of shelter visitors or users had a "good or better" impression of services received. Despite low usage of animal shelters, most respondents thought shelters should accept (87%) and relocate (90%) unwanted animals, capture strays (64%), assist in finding lost pets (79%), and educate the public about responsible ownership (85%). More than half (52%) thought shelters should perform euthanasia.