By Briana Burke
I arrived for my shift at the SPCA, where an adult Siamese mix named Simms had recently been placed. Simms was a surprisingly affectionate cat considering he was an abandoned stray with ears and tail frostbitten away due to the harsh conditions in which he was found. If the shelter hadn’t been there to rescue him, he probably wouldn’t have survived. This is why we need to support our local shelters. If you are an aspiring pet owner you should choose to adopt from a shelter instead of buying from a breeder or pet store and help reduce overpopulation, fight against inhumane practices, and give a well-deserving pet a new beginning.
There are hundreds of thousands of animals residing in shelters across Canada who need love and affection. So why are people still opting to buy their pets from pet stores and breeders instead of adopting? Some people who prefer a certain breed may be influenced to buy from a specialized breeder; others are simply worried about the stigma that shelter animals are less friendly towards people. Maybe they have yet to be informed on the multiple reasons why one should choose to adopt.
According to the BC SPCA website, animal adoption helps, “eliminate the province’s massive pet overpopulation issue by choosing a companion already in need of a home.”
The abundance of domesticated homeless animals throughout canada is causing shelters to take drastic measures in order to keep the growing population down. In a 2013 Légar Marketing poll, conducted by the Association des Médecins Vétérinaires du Québec, it was found that in shelters throughout the province 50,000 domesticated animal residents were euthanized while only 73,000 were adopted. The difference between the two numbers is shocking, and it makes me wonder how many innocent creatures would still be living if more people chose to adopt. The SPCA is also fighting against overpopulation by medically disabling the animals taken into their care from reproducing. Humane Canada approximated, in a 2018 statistics poll, that 94 percent of SPCA shelters across the country spay and neuter all animals in their care. They also found that 40 percent of dogs and 46 percent of cats who are rescued by the SPCA are strays, meaning that not only is the organization reducing overpopulation they are also reducing the number of animals who are living without a home. While breeders and pet stores are making little to no effort towards the threat of pet overpopulation or the fight against homelessness in domesticated animals, the SPCA is working to make a difference.
Adopting means there is absolutely no chance that you are supporting puppy mills, domesticated animal farms, or backyard breeders. When you adopt from the SPCA you know without a doubt that you are not unknowingly supporting inhumane breeding tactics. If you are buying a pet and you decide to go to a pet store thinking that it is an ethical form of animal purchase, you are sadly mistaken. The truth, according to Humane Canada, is that many pet stores are actually selling animals bought directly from puppy mills. Puppy mills and animal farms are disgusting, immoral, torturous places where animals are kept in dirty barns, sheds, and basements. Cages are piled on top of each other and are left unclean to the point where feces is falling from the top cages onto the animals below. Animals live excruciating lives with little to no veterinary services and are continuously bred until they are no longer able to produce enough babies. Once the poor creatures aren’t able to give the breeders what they want they are abandoned and sometimes even executed. These terrible places are usually located in rural areas making it very difficult for the SPCA and other animal rights organizations to find them.
Pet stores are unreliable sources, but some breeders are not much better. If you plan on purchasing a pet from a breeder make sure you know who you are talking to. Backyard breeding is almost as awful as puppy mills, they are usually run by people who are not qualified to safely breed animals and who keep the animals in less than ideal conditions. Backyard breeders will frequently leave the pets outside in harsh weather, feed them the cheapest food, and not allow them the veterinary services they require. The best way to avoid supporting these inhumane practices is to adopt from a reliable shelter such as the SPCA.
The last reason why you should choose to adopt is the personal benefits accompanying adoption. The regular adoption fee at the sea to sky SPCA branch, as stated on the BC SPCA website, is approximately $194 for a kitten, $155 for a cat six months or older, and $78 for a cat that is eight years or older. A puppy is $395, a dog six months or older is $325, and for a dog eight years or older the adoption fee is $163. To put this into perspective, on Canadian breeder websites such as kijiji.ca, the cost for a dog from a breeder can be upwards of $2,000, or $1,200 for a cat depending on the breed. Keeping this in mind as well as the fact that all animals from the SPCA are spayed/neutered and dewormed before adoption, the amount of money you save by adopting rather than purchasing can end up being up to $1,810 for a dog and $875 for a cat. On top of the cost benefits the feeling of knowing that you have just saved the life of an innocent animal is priceless and worth making the decision to adopt.
The decision to bring a pet into your home is a big one and the choice to adopt is just as important. Adopting costs less, fights against inhumane practices, and gives a home to a pet who otherwise wouldn’t have one. Pet owners who adopt from the SPCA are helping to end the on-going war against animal cruelty. So I ask you to adopt from the SPCA and join the fight to save the lives of these innocent creatures.
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