During the midst of New Zealand's cost-of-living crisis and the wake of multiple Covid-19 lockdowns, animal rescue organisations are experiencing an influx of people offloading animals that they can no longer care for.
The Auckland Council's Animal Management department reported, in its 2021-22 annual report, that 268 dogs were relinquished to their three Auckland shelters in that time period. This was an increase from 186 in the previous year.
"Over the last year we have seen an increase in the number of people looking to give up their pets, with our three animal shelters consequently running at capacity," said manager of Animal Management at Auckland Council, Elly Waitoa.
"There are several factors that have caused people to give up their pets, including a return to the workplace following the end of Covid-19 restrictions, landlords clamping down on dogs at their properties and a higher number of puppies being born, both inside and outside of the shelters, due to reduced veterinary capacity for desexing during lockdowns," she said.
SPCA general manager of operations Sue Kinsella said "many SPCA centres are near capacity and have been for some time, due to the large influx of animals, particularly dogs and puppies. Kitten season is also approaching which will put even more pressure on our centres".