Australians are surrendering their pets at an alarming rate, leaving shelters around the country overflowing and forcing some to stop accepting new animals altogether.
Charities say cost-of-living pressures, the pandemic, and a "throw-away attitude" are behind the surge in abandonments.
Most RSPCA shelters are over capacity, with hundreds of animals on their surrender waitlists.
Among them is a South Australian branch that has not been able to accept private surrenders since March 10, when it had an all-time high of 1,451 animals in its care.
Interest in adoptions – which surged during the pandemic – has also dropped significantly, with the number of animals finding a forever home much lower than the number coming into care.
Affordability now a key reason for surrender
Over the past 12 months, RSPCA ACT chief executive Michelle Robertson has seen a steady rise in the number of animals being surrendered and abandoned, with 300 now in care.
"We started noticing it, probably mid-last-year, and it's as if it's just [happening] more and more," she said.
"Affordability used to be fairly low as a reason, but we are seeing affordability/cost of living is one of the top three reason animals are being surrendered to us."
Canberra Pet Rescue also has its "longest-ever backlog" of pet owners wanting to surrender an animal.
"Some people are dealing with the high costs of rent, or they can't get a rental property," Canberra Pet Rescue's Brian Achanfuo-Yeboah said.
"There's also the high cost in vet care and that's putting a strain on these owners who have then either got to surrender or rehome their pet."
It's a similar story in southern Queensland, where Craig Montgomery from Animal Welfare League Queensland (AWLQ) is seeing more people giving up their pets because they can't find anywhere to live.
"You've got houses that have gone from $400 a week to $700-800 a week, almost doubling, which is crazy," he said.
"So, you've got people living in their cars with their pets — we know it's happening because we support these people.
"And there's no real light at the end of the tunnel. We just don't know when it's going to end."
AWLQ has stopped taking private surrenders, with 130 animals on its waiting list.
The rental crisis is also hitting pet owners in South Australia hard, where the laws protecting tenants with animals are some of the weakest in the country.
"A lot of people are sadly having to surrender much-loved pets to us when they just can't get a roof over all of their heads," RSPCA SA spokesperson Carolyn Jones said.
"Which is such a terrible thing, given how we all recognise how important pets are for our mental and physical health.
"So, to be separating people from animals really is a human welfare issue as much as it is an animal welfare issue."
'Novelty of pet ownership has worn off'
Mr Achanfuo-Yeboah said the pandemic had also played a major role in the number of animals being surrendered, with many abandoned pets only a year or two old.
"Since the COVID lockdown, when many people acquired their pets for the first time, we're finding that the novelty of pet ownership has worn off for some," he said.
"Others realise the pet that they acquired during lockdown, in fact, isn't the right fit for their home or lifestyle."
The RSPCA in Victoria and the ACT — where there were significant COVID-19 lockdowns — are also seeing more owners unable to cope with their animal's challenging behaviour.
"What we are seeing in dogs and cats is some behaviour that's kicking in and that could potentially be an aftermath of COVID-19 when we weren't able to socialise our pets as much as what we should have," she said.
That's a problem that Chris Mooney from ACT Domestic Animal Services has also noticed.
"We have seen some impacts from COVID-19, where dogs aren't trained or socialised properly which means that the owners find them quite difficult to manage," he said.
Veterinary costs 'out of control'
The cost of desexing, microchipping and immunising cats and dogs runs into the hundreds of dollars and, like other goods and services, veterinary prices are on the rise.
When it comes to emergency pet treatment, the price can run into the thousands.
Michelle Alber runs the Sydney Pet Rescue Adoption charity and has found the cost of veterinary care is “out of control” and “unaffordable” for many pet owners.
“I know one veterinary hospital where some services have gone up at least 20 per cent … and some services have nearly doubled in price,” she said.
“We too have had to cut back the number of animals we take into care.”
The hike in veterinary costs has also forced Canberra Pet Rescue to halve the number of animals it is fostering and rehoming because it can't afford the bills.
"If we don't see change in the coming months, we will have to reconsider the future of Canberra Pet Rescue," he said.
"We've already scaled back our services significantly because of the high cost of veterinary care but we can only do that for so long.
"There will come a point where we would need to look at closing our doors."
With about 100 people on its waitlist to surrender an animal, Canberra Pet Rescue is calling for a community desexing program.
"That would make the cost of desexing affordable for new pet owners who are most at need, and also help rescue groups like ourselves who are taking in the animals and trying to care for them to get them rehomed," Mr Achanfuo-Yeboah said.
"We have made requests to the ACT government for such initiatives but, so far, our calls have gone unheeded."
‘Rate of abandonment unacceptable’
As more animals come into her care in Sydney, Ms Alber says the “attitude” of some pet owners is also part of the problem.
“There are a lot of people that just lose interest in their animals,” she said.
“There’s an element of attitudinal problem in Australia, it’s a throwaway society.
“The rate of abandonment really is unacceptable.”
While the reasons why people can't keep their pets are many and varied, Ms Alber says some owners can do more to care for their furry friend.
She said she had received phone calls from people wanting to give up their animal because “they were going on holiday”.
“That’s an example of someone not taking enough time and not caring enough,“ she said.
