Tour de France, results of the bac, abandonment of animals. No doubt. summer is here !

Summer is here. Everything is ready. The luggage is packed. Imminent departure for a well-deserved vacation. Just one more thing to do.

For a very large number of people, the holidays, it happens without their pet. The one that we adopted because we cracked on his baby face or to deceive boredom during long months of confinement, will not leave. This animal that we have fed, that we welcome into the family, no longer entertains us. Too embarrassing. Too bulky. And vacations, as we all know, are not made to create constraints. So the little furball that was, among other things wrong, to grow up, will end up at best in a refuge, at worst tied to a tree. Once this little formality is accomplished, a living being will surely wonder what he could have done wrong to find himself there. But nothing, my friend. You haven't done anything wrong. You are just the poor victim of wickedness, selfishness, irresponsibility. Stupidity.

Each year, it is always the same sad litany. Shelters are full of abandoned animals as the summer holidays approach and we are told, every time, that this year is worse than the last. 2021 will not escape the rule. In France, the SPA (Society for the protection of animals) is sorry to note the record levels of abandonment of animals. On July 8, the SPA declared: "the sites are close to saturation" , and "adoptions are less numerous during this summer vacation period" . At this rate, the fear is of soon no longer "being able to deal with abandonment and to welcome new animals" . According to the sources, 8,932 abandoned animals have been collected by the association since May 1 in its 62 shelters and SPA houses, or 6% more than in 2019 over the same period. An increase also confirmed in June with a jump of 14% compared to 2019. Cats and NACs (new pets: rodents, reptiles, etc.) seem to be at the top of the dropouts, up 25% over the month alone June compared to 2019.

With the advent of the internet and social networks, any animal can be obtained very easily. The fundamentals remain the dog and the cat of course but the tarantula or the reptile, it's super trendy. And then let's not even talk about the exotic animal! A must. Many associations which defend animals denounce "easy purchases and [which disempower] on the Internet, as on Leboncoin, and in pet stores which took place in 2020".

Pandemic and animal business; this is the cocktail which, according to Jacques-Charles Fombonne, president of the SPA, has led this year to a particularly dramatic situation. While stressing that " it is ultimately late that pets become collateral victims of the health crisis."

100,000 abandoned animals in France according to the SPA, including 60,000 just as summer approaches. Far below the truth declare other associations. Behind a quarrel of numbers, lies the sad reality of the “animal object” leading to the overpopulation of shelters. A reality that is observed all over the world. The data collected is hardly more encouraging among our European neighbors. And even beyond. For example, in the United States, 1.2 million dogs are euthanized each year for lack of space!

The legislation is evolving in the right direction all over the world as we explained in our article of February 23, 2021. The animal trade is getting a more restrictive legal framework. In fact, in January 2021, the National Assembly adopted the law prohibiting, initially, only the trade of dogs and cats in pet shops or garden centers for the benefit of shelters and approved breeders. This provision, which should come into force in 2024, is part of a broader bill tabled by the majority aimed at legislating against animal abuse. But the implementation is slow and big gaps persist. During this time and despite the fairly heavy penalties incurred (2 years in prison and a € 30,000 fine), the abandonments continued.

Let us recall that the proposed law n ° 3661 aims to strengthen the fight against animal abuse and complements the decisions of 1976 and 2015 recognizing animals "their status as intelligent beings endowed with sensitivities and giving the owners the obligation to support them. in downhill conditions " .

So, to good hearers, bastards.