No puppy love: post-lockdown lifestyles and cost of living are driving Australians to surrender their pets

The end of Covid lockdowns and the spiralling cost of living have left animal shelters overflowing, with organisations now forced to host adoption drives and slash their fees in an effort to get more animals out of shelters and into their forever homes.

This was in stark contrast to the high adoption rates and shelter shortages across Australia during the early days of the Covid pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.

Nadia Peiris, the animal care manager for RSPCA Victoria, said shelters had seen a high volume of pets surrendered, while adoption and foster rates have fallen.

Kristy Blake, general manager of animal operations for RSPCA New South Wales, said they saw a 20-30% increase in surrenders post-lockdown last year.

On top of this, more families were now citing the growing cost of living as the reason for having to give up their animals.

Currently, RSPCA NSW was investing more time in helping pet owners with behavioural training and veterinary costs so they could keep pets with families and out of shelters.

Normally, adoption fees can be as high as $1,500 for an adult dog or puppy, depending on the organisation or shelter that has the pet. During the pandemic lockdowns, breeders were charging up to $15,000 for a purebred dog or a popular poodle cross, with many paying hundreds of dollars to be put on waitlists for litters. Prices have since dropped.

Western Australia RSPCA services were also experiencing capacity challenges, Peiris said, and South Australia was dealing with a serious cat overpopulation issue.

In 2021/22 RSPCA SA had a cat intake of 5,759. In the years prior going back to 2012, the yearly intake only surpassed 5,000 once in 2019/20.

RSPCA branches in Queensland were facing a similar issue, with cats accounting for 62% of the animals currently in their care.