Christmas not the best time to give pets to your children
ANIMAL welfare groups are reporting a massive surge in the number of unwanted pets as people struggle to cope with the cost of keeping animals.
Charities nationwide are struggling to cope with a spate of dumped animals — many of which are left to die in remote locations — as owners face into a new year of reduced income or emigration.
For many groups bills for food and veterinary care have long surpassed their modest annual budgets, and with donations to charities at an all-time low, the outlook for their survival in 2011 is extremely bleak.
In addition, the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) has recorded an unprecedented number of calls to its helpline this year.
By November, 13,890 calls to the helpline had been recorded compared with 9,496 in the first 11 months of 2009.
In the past three years the number of dogs destroyed in pounds has reached 29,224, with the majority of these pets young and healthy but abandoned or unwanted.
To help combat this the ISPCA is calling on people to consider the responsibility, financial implications and the commitment involved before they decide to surprise anyone with a pet for Christmas.
According to the ISPCA what will add to the abandoned animal epidemic is the issue of people giving pets as gifts this Christmas without considering whether the receiver can commit to caring for an animal.
While it may seem like a the perfect gesture on the day, on St Stephen’s Day, when the novelty of receiving a puppy or kitten has started to wane and the reality of toilet training, grooming and feeding has set in, the real problems begin.
“Christmas is really not the best time to introduce a new puppy in the home,” says ISPCA spokeswoman Carmel Murray. “With shorter evenings and bad weather in December and January, coupled with the fact that there is extra activity around the festive season, and children are back to school shortly after the arrival of a new puppy, means families don’t have sufficient time to bond with their new pet.
“We recommend during the summer months as a better time to introduce a new puppy in the home where there is plenty of time and longer evenings for training.”
Before acting out the impulse thought of getting a pet of any shape or size for your family to enjoy over Christmas, really think: how may of the gifts that your children got last year still feature regularly in their playtime?
Though it may seem cliched, like many age-old sayings the warning that “Pets Are For Life, Not Just For Christmas” still rings true.
Come January and February animal sanctuaries are put under enormous extra pressure to care for abandoned, unwanted or neglected pets that were bought as presents on a whim but sadly forgotten about once the novelty has worn off.
Economic issues have hit pet owners hard, and with many choosing to emigrate to greener pastures more and more pets are being left behind.
Some people are finding that while they could afford to keep a dog or two, a horse or any other pet during the prosperous boom times, they simply cannot afford to pay for the upkeep of their beloved pets any longer.
However, puppies and kittens are not the only creatures that often suffer as a result of people’s failure to consider everything that is involved in owning a pet.
One of the biggest animal welfare concerns in light of the economic downturn is the increase in the number of neglected horses, abandoned and left to suffer because the bottom has fallen out of the horse market and owners simply cannot sell or afford to keep their animals anymore.
Horse rescue centres nationwide reached their capacity for housing neglected animals long before the recent cold snap, and with the harsh weather expected to return there is fear that sanctuaries will not be able to cope with the spike in the number of animals needing care.
Sanctuaries have also seen a huge increase in unwanted exotic pets such as terrapins, iguanas and various breeds of snakes that initially seem low maintenance, but inevitably need expensive tanks and equipment to live happily outside of their natural environment.
So, the message from activists is if you are determined to get a pet, ensure it is an informed decision by all members of the family.
Some parents will buy a pet hoping that caring for the animal will teach their children to be compassionate towards another living creature, but Christmas is not the time to begin those lessons. If a child is presented with a new puppy or kitten at Christmas, they are likely to view it as just another new toy, to be played with for a time, and then discarded in favour of something newer.
The advice from the ISPCA is if you really need something to put under the tree, buy a lead, a collar, or a training book to prepare your family for a new addition, and when the time is right consider adopting one of the thousands of animals in sanctuaries across the country just waiting to become the newest addition to your family.
JUST outside the village of Liscarroll in Cork lies a sanctuary that has been the safe haven for more than 2,580 neglected or abandoned donkeys from all parts of the country.
The Donkey Sanctuary is home to 500 donkeys, many of whom never felt loving hands or heard quiet voices prior to arriving at the sanctuary.
“We never refuse any donkey,” says the sanctuary’s PR manager Paddy Barrett. “We have another 100 waiting to come in from around the country because all the liveries are full up.”
Once an indispensable addition to an Irish farm, sadly many of these donkeys were abandoned and given little attention after having worked for their owners for years, hauling peat or pulling a cart.
“When they come in they have to be held in isolation because many are full of parasites. One of the big problems is people not looking after their feet, donkeys need to have their hooves trimmed and a lot of owners just overlook this,” adds Paddy.
Paddy and his family have a long tradition of helping animals, and donkeys in particular. Paddy’s father was a welfare officer in the ISPCA and Paddy himself worked as an inspector for the ISPCA for five years during the ’80s, while at the same time running a rescue centre for donkeys.
The cold snap has had a huge impact on the number of donkeys needing extra care, with many owners unable to afford fodder for their animals.
While a donkey may not be the first animal that someone looking for a new addition to their family will consider, according to Paddy the humble donkey makes a wonderful pet. Currently more than 440 donkeys have been happily placed in 220 homes.
“They are very trusting animals and they live to a great age — some even into their 50s,” he says.
“It’s important to have good fencing because donkeys are great escape artists, but the most important thing a donkey needs is love, care and attention.”
The Donkey Sanctuary is open to visitors seven days a week and offers free admission and parking. It relies entirely on the public’s generosity and contributions are gratefully received.
- To make a donation call 022 48398
www.thedonkeysanctuary.ie
LIKE so many animal charities, Clare Animal Welfare has reached its limit in finances and capacity.
“It’s criminal what’s happening,” says charity spokeswoman Kate Browne. “So many horses are starving to death in front of us and we just don’t have the funds or the facilities to care for all of them.”
Equine welfare has become an extremely serious issue as more strain is put on people’s finances, and animal sanctuaries are being left with the burden of caring for hundreds of the creatures, many of whom are just left to perish without food, shelter or water.
“The most difficult thing is that we can’t even address the issue, I can’t take on any more horses myself,” adds Kate, who herself has given a home to 16 horses.
“Last year our funding went down and this year it will drop even further, and it’s the animals who are suffering. We are seeing the most horrific neglect of horses, to watch these beautiful animals clearly withering because they have nothing to eat is heartbreaking, and it’s such a slow process because horses have such great will.”
Kate added that there is currently a cat epidemic around the county as a result of people failing to spay their pets.
“People don’t realise that a pet is like having a baby, it’s a commitment. To care for an animal correctly is a huge investment.”
Kate says that as a small charity, Clare Animal Welfare is often lower down the list for people considering donations, and with the bad weather set to continue she fears that even more animals will perish over the coming weeks.
“We appreciate any help we can get — even if a farmer can give a few donations of food or bales of hay to feed the animals it would be a huge help.”
- www.clareanimalwelfare.net
“THINGS were always bad, but they are exceptionally bad at the moment,” says Jennifer Headlam, chairwoman of the West Cork Animal Welfare Group.
“We are at bursting point, and when you open a paper to see 30 ads for pedigree puppies, it’s infuriating.”
Jennifer’s frustration echoes that of many other animal welfare groups around the country that are currently struggling to cope with a flood of abandoned and unwanted animals.
The group was founded in 1999 in response to a desperate need to help unwanted animals in the area, and during those 11 years more than 3,600 animals have been rescued and re-homed.
According to Jennifer, many of the animals taken in belonged to students who moved to college and had to leave their pet at home with unwilling parents.
Jennifer says the group is currently under enormous financial strain, and while they do receive a grant from the Department of Agriculture they expect it will be cut significantly next year.
“We are always looking for people to help us fundraise and any donations, however small, are greatly appreciated,” she adds.
In addition, All For Animals, a non-profit organisation, an umbrella fundraising project, has chosen The West Cork Animal Welfare Group as the participating animal welfare group for Cork.
The calendar costs €6, plus postage, and can be bought online or in many shops around Cork.
-Donations to The West Cork Animal Welfare Group can be made at www.westcorkanimals.com
Bank details:
Permanent TSB
Account: West Cork Animal Welfare Group Ltd
Sort Code: 99-07-12
Account No:71649440
A SURGE in the number of stray animals is a problem facing most animal sanctuaries this Christmas, and the Cork Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (CSPCA) is no different.
“The numbers are definitely up on last year, especially with dogs,” says honorary secretary Jan Verwey. “Last year we had close to 600 dogs, this year we have already taken in 900.”
Based in Mahon, the CSPCA aims to prevent cruelty throughout Cork, and aims to investigate all complaints of cruelty towards animals, however small.
“We don’t know what the increase in strays is down to, but there are definitely more animals not being claimed, and a huge number of the dogs we get in have health issues that perhaps their owners could not afford to treat,” adds Jan.
Luckily, a large number of the dogs taken in by the CSPCA are successfully re-homed.
Jan says that the CSPCA try to encourage people who come to the animal home looking for a pet to consider adopting an adult dog.
“We have no problem re-homing the puppies,” he says.
“People are always willing to take those, but adult dogs are slow to go. We try to tell them the cons of owning a puppy — it can be much more work than owning an adult dog because they have lots of energy, and an older dog can be a very rewarding companion.”
The CSPCA is always grateful for donations to help with the upkeep of the animal home and to help keep their animal ambulance operating.
“If people cannot adopt a pet we are delighted to receive donations,” adds Jan.
“People can through the website, in one of our collection boxes or even just drop in to us at the home.”
- http://cspca.ie/
THIS year has been particularly devastating in terms of the number of abandoned or neglected horses, and December has been yet another dark month for equine welfare.
At the ISPCA Victor Dowling Equine Rescue Centre in Mallow, the number of calls has increased from 453 in 2008 to 1,850 so far this year.
“The big issue is that the bottom has dropped out of the horse market and people cannot afford to look after them anymore, so many horses are being abandoned and left to fend for themselves,” says the centre’s supervisor, Barbara Bent.
“We currently have 33 horses — everything from thoroughbred to yearlings and ponies — and a lot of them were totally emaciated by the time they came into us.”
Located in Mallow, Co Cork, the centre opened in June 2007 as a result of the urgent requirement to accommodate cruelly treated and neglected equines in the south of the country.
Now, having faced weeks of freezing weather, Barbara says the centre is inundated with calls from people reporting cases of neglected or abandoned horses, many of which are found starving in fields without food or water.
“In January and February the real problem will hit. Those horses that survive the winter will be extremely weak if this cold continues and there is very little nourishment in the fields as a result.”
One of the worst scenarios, according to Barbara, happened recently when the centre took in a mare that had been found dumped in a ditch, starving and left to die.
Barbara says one of the major concerns is horse owners, who cannot afford to have their stallions castrated, are allowing their animals to run with their sisters and daughters, resulting in severely inbred foals.
“We have taken in a number of mares whose foals have turned out to be inbred, which is a big worry. When people buy a horse they need to be aware of what it costs to keep one — they have to pay for a farrier, for feed, and vet bills for a start — a pony is a lot more work and expense than a puppy.
“If you find that you can no longer afford to look after your animal, for God’s sake don’t dump it or leave it to die, ask somebody for help.”
The ISPCA Victor Dowling Equine Rescue Centre is currently appealing for donations to help pay for their huge feeding bill.
- Donations to the centre can be made by contacting the ISPCA directly on 1890 515 515.
WITH the economy in dire straits, a huge number of people are being forced to emigrate to look for greener pastures.
However, the knock-on effect that is often overlooked are the much loved pets that people are being forced to leave behind.
“People are coming in to us crying, bringing their dogs or cats, saying ‘we have no choice, we have to go’”, says Limerick Animal Welfare chairwoman Marion Fitzgibbon.
“We are also seeing a huge increase in the number of older dogs being abandoned because people cannot afford to keep them, or the animal is ill, and euthanasia is very expensive — it can be as much as €120 for a large dog.”
Founded in 1983, Limerick Animal Welfare is dedicated to caring for abandoned and neglected animals in the Limerick area, with more than 2,000 animals saved in the last five years alone.
At any one time the charity, which operates a no-kill policy for healthy animals, cares for about 60 dogs and 30 cats. “At the moment we have 75 dogs and 15 young puppies and 80 cats,” says Marion.
“With the cost of spaying a pet as high as €180, people that are on less than €200 a week cannot afford to spay their animals. Also in better times people would adopt three or four dogs or cats at a time, but many just can’t afford to adopt more than one now so we are under extreme pressure.”
Like most other charities, donations to Limerick Animal Welfare are down as much as two-thirds in the last two years.
“We are really worried for 2011,” says Marion. “The donations took a nosedive this year and we expect they will again. The cold weather is also impacting our budget — we have never seen so many horses neglected and dying in fields.
“We have terrapins, parakeets and about 25 rabbits. People buy these pets thinking they will be no work, but these animals need cleaning and exercising and feeding too, they can’t just be left to fend for themselves in a small cage or box when a child loses interest.
“We recently rescued a pot-bellied piglet that had been given as a joke to someone for their 21st birthday.
“The poor creature escaped and ran wild for two weeks before it was caught, it must have been absolutely terrified.”
Marion says she would appeal to people that have the space and time for a pet to consider adopting a greyhound dog.
“There are 30,000 greyhounds bred in Ireland every year, but because the market has disappeared many are being abandoned.
“They make great pets. They are faithful, quiet and absolute couch potatoes.”
The charity is appealing for people to donate what they can, with food and bedding always appreciated.
- Donations to Limerick Animal Welfare can be made at their charity shop on 59 Parnell Street, Limerick, or through the website.
www.limerickanimalwelfare.ie
FOR animal lovers who like the idea of having a pet, but don’t feel that they have the time to commit to owning one, the Dingle Wildlife and Seal Sanctuary (DWSS) is offering people the chance to adopt a pup of a different kind.
The DWSS officially opened its doors to the public in June, and is home to nine adorable seal pups.
Together with The Irish Seal Sanctuary the DWSS rescues orphaned, wounded and starving seal pups and releases them back into the wild as soon as they have a clean bill of health.
“There were big sea swells during November and as a result a number of pups were washed off the rocks,” says volunteer John O’Connor.
“When a seal comes in we assess any problems it has, and it can take up to three months to rehabilitate.”
The Adopt-a-Seal programme helps the sanctuary provide rescued seal pups with food, medication and the care need to grow happy and healthy and eventually be released back into the wild.
There are two species of seal in Ireland, The Grey Seal and the Common or Harbour Seal. Both are rehabilitated at the DWSS at different times during the year.
One major problem, says John, is people encouraging seals back into the water when they find them on beaches or rocks.
“Sometimes the seals are just there for a rest or perhaps injured, and when they are shooed back into the water they may not be seen again for a few days. Unfortunately, when it is found again it may be too late to treat it.”
In addition the sanctuary is home to birds, including Egyptian Geese, Barnacle Geese, Mandarin Ducks and Snow Geese.
According to John, the sanctuary also cares for cliff sea birds that are drawn in by the lights in Dingle town.
“We have quite a few rescue birds as the cold weather meant that many lakes and ponds froze over. We even have a rescued domestic ferret that we are looking for someone to adopt.”
In addition to resident seal-pups and birds, young visitors can also take advantage of the children’s adventure playground which features a three-storey wooden castle with rooftop views of the entire sanctuary.
- www.dinglesanctuary.com
www.irishsealsanctuary.ie
- Can you cope with the demands of a pet? You are dealing with the life of another being, so don’t take the decision lightly.
- Do you have enough time to look after a pet? If you live a busy life with only a couple of hours spare a day, will you have enough time to look after a pet properly?
- Do you have the money to look after a pet? Pets cost money. As well as vet bills, you will need to spend a lot of money on food and supplies for a pet. Some pets that need their own environment like fish, turtles or lizards can be very expensive to look after. The electricity bill alone is quite considerable.
- Do you have the space? Even small pets can take up lots of room, and you wouldn’t want to lock an animal in a cramped space.
- Can you commit for a long period? Some pets may actually outlive you. Dogs can live for anything up to 20 years, some parrots may live to 50 years.
- Can you get them in an ethical way? If you are going to get a pet, why not get one from an animal sanctuary? So many animals are put down every year because they don’t have homes, that it would be silly to encourage more to be bred by breeders.
If you are buying an “exotic” pet, can you be sure it hasn’t been poached from its natural environment and smuggled into the country? Will you be funding poachers and gangsters?
- Will you still love them when they are old? Puppies and kittens inevitably get older and slower.
- Can you trust the animal around children? Dogs can be dangerous and unpredictable.
- Will your landlord allow pets? What if you move? Many landlords do not allow pets. It might be okay now, but can you guarantee this for 15 years?
- Do you go away for days at a time? Do you often go on business, visit relatives or go on holiday for more than a day? Will you be able to look after your pet or provide cover all the time?
- ISPCA
www.ispca.ie
043 33 25035
- Animal Care Society Co Cork
www.animalcaresociety.ie
021 4551781
- Cork Cat Action Trust
Co Cork
www.catactiontrust.com
- Animal Heaven Animal Rescue
Co Kerry
ahar.ie
086 107 6729
- Kerry SPCA
Co Kerry
http://kerryspca.com
066 7128588
-Dungarvan Rescue Kennels Co Waterford
http://dungarvanrescue.org
051 291106
- Limerick SPCA
Co Limerick
061 415 618
www.limerickspca.com
- Second Chance Animal Rescue
Co Clare
061 703549
www.scarclare.com
- Cottage Rescue
Co Tipperary
www.cottagerescue.ie
087 970 1919
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