Document type written answer published in theJournal Officiel of the French Republic
Authors: question: Anne Le Hénanff (Horizons et apparentés - Morbihan). Answer: French Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty
Question: Anne Le Hénanff draws the attention of the French Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty to the rise in pet abandonment and the situation shelters and associations are in concerning inflation. With an average 15% increase in pet food prices, including an additional 18% just for dry foods, pet owners, shelters and associations are finding it hard to cope. Whereas the annual cost of keeping a pet (food and veterinary expenses) came to 650 EUROS in 2019, it now costs just under 1,000 EUROS, sometimes leading to sacrifices by the owner given widespread inflation and increasing loss of purchasing power. As a result, many owners are no longer in a position to care for their pets properly, reluctantly turning to associations or shelters for financial assistance or to formally hand over their pets. Despite the fact that the French animal protection society (the SPA) provides financial assistance to the poorest in society by covering veterinary costs, it recorded 12,000 abandonments in the first four months of 2023, up 10% on 2022. Some SPAs are even recording increases of up to 40%. The same reasons that lead some owners to give up their pets have caused adoption numbers to stall or even fall, overburdening shelters. Currently, 6,400 animals are available for adoption from SPAs, compared with 4,000 in 2022, even though we have not yet reached the annual summer peak in abandonments. Against this backdrop of full shelters, many are forced to operate a waiting list, asking owners to wait until a stall or cage becomes available before formally applying to hand over their animals. Animal welfare organizations are concerned that this may lead to illegal abandonments outside the system, as well as the abuse of animals whose owners would like to get rid of them. The length and cost of stays in shelters are also on the increase. In fact, shelters and associations are being hit hard by inflation and are trapped between four factors: rising abandonment rates, stagnating or even falling adoption figures, rising operating costs (energy, food, veterinary fees, etc.) and falling donations from the French public. Matters are so bad that several of these facilities are considering closing in the near future if there is no change in their financial situation. In light of this, she would like to know what measures the Government intends to take to combat these inflation-related abandonments, and whether it plans to put in place an emergency plan for the peak season for abandonments in summer 2023. She also asks how the Government intends to provide financial support to associations and shelters.
Answer: Reducing abandonment is a priority objective in the fight against pet abuse. A plan to combat pet abandonment was launched in December 2020. Numerous actions have been undertaken in recent years, including changes to the legislative and regulatory framework following the adoption of Law no. 2021-1539 of November 30, 2021 to combat animal abuse and strengthen the bond between animals and humans. The adoption of this law has already made it possible to impose tougher penalties for abandonment or any other act of animal abuse. Since then, three implementing decrees have been published. Decree no. 2022-1012 of July 18, 2022 on the protection of companion animals and equidae against animal abuse sets out the terms and conditions for the publication of online sales offers, along with the procedures and structure of controls to apply to domestic carnivores from July 1, 2023. In addition to these controls, mandatory awareness-raising messages to be included in advertisements will also be set out by decree. The aim of this measure is to limit trafficking in dogs and cats, along with ill-considered acquisitions based on simple on-line advertisements. The decree also specifies the procedures for implementing the certificates of commitment and knowledge that must be requested of all new pet buyers since October 1, 2022, and from all equine owners since December 31, 2022. These legislative and regulatory steps forward are significant, and form part of a larger programme implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and financed through the France Relance plan. A total of 35 MILLION EUROS (M€) has been ringfenced for the fight against abandonment, improving the conditions under which stray animals are housed and supporting sterilization campaigns. Over 500 projects have been supported throughout France. 30 million euros were allocated directly to animal protection associations who take in abandoned animals, to enable them to expand or renovate their shelters, or to conduct sterilization campaigns for stray cats and dogs, in partnership with local authorities. The care of animals belonging to the destitute or homeless has also been funded to encourage veterinary care for these animals and, more specifically, to encourage sterilization, the first step in preventing the abandonment of unwanted young animals. In addition, to optimize the work of animal protection associations, aid has been allocated to national associations entrusted by the Ministry of Agriculture with the task of training and raising awareness among local associations. Last, given the absence of reliable data on abandonment and the lack of knowledge of the circumstances that can lead to the abandonment of an animal, the first Observatory for the Protection of Domestic Carnivores (OCAD) was set up in 2021, bringing together on its steering committee all those involved in the pet industry, including both volunteer associations and professionals, scientists and representatives from national and local authorities. OCAD's mission is to issue recommendations on public policy, and it has already launched an initial project to collect and analyze information of use for the analysis and definition of abandonment. OCAD is currently working on a characterization of the animal populations taken in by all animal protection associations, and the reasons why they are taken in. This work by OCAD should soon make it possible to establish a more precise definition of abandonment, and provide an objective estimate of the number of animals concerned.
