Australian animal shelters are overflowing as people rush to return their ‘pandemic pets’

People in Australia are giving up their ‘pandemic’ pets due to a sharp rise in pricing and the return of the workforce.

According to Reuters, Australian animal shelters are overflowing and people have to wait up to eight months to surrender their pets because of enormous waitlists.

In her 20 years of animal rescue, Monika Biernacki, the founder of Monika’s Doggie Rescue, a no-kill shelter in Sydney’s northern suburbs, claimed that she had never witnessed anything like this.

‘The number of animals in the shelters that are just desperate to get out. The number of calls, emails, texts that we get here of people wanting to surrender their animals and it’s just never-ending… It’s heartbreaking,’ she added.

The New South Wales Animal Welfare Society’s CEO, Stephen Albin, claims that many individuals who bought pets as lockdown companions are now aware of the obligations they bring.

He said, ‘I think a lot of people just wanted company so they went and acquired a pet, they got a friend, but they didn’t truly grasp what it takes to manage a cat.’

High school teacher Holly Medcalf told Reuters that although many think owning a pet is easy, ‘in reality, it’s so much pressure and hard work.’

During the pandemic, Medcalf bought her dog Opi, and to date, she has racked up almost $2,700 in vet bills.

In Australia, caring for a pet is getting harder and more expensive. Compared to human food items, prices of pet products saw a 12 per cent rise in the first half of this year. Additionally, pet-friendly housing is also harder to come by.