ALICANTE’S Municipal Animal Shelter has recorded a 40% increase in animals in its care each month over the last year.
Abandonments have risen while adoption levels have fallen at the same time.
Between March 2022 and March 2023, the municipal shelter collected 705 animals, of which 204 were adopted.
The average being looked after each month was 60, but that has gone up to 100 over the same period between 2022 and 2023.
890 animals have been collected but only 179 have been adopted.
Cats and dogs are the bulk of the shelter’s residents, but it is also home to donkeys, ponies, and horses.
Exotic birds and reptiles also appear and they are then transferred to specialised wildlife recovery centres.
Alicante’s Health Councillor, Cristina Cutanda, stressed the importance of responsible animal ownership to avoid abandonment situations.
“Perhaps those want to bring an animal into their family could choose to adopt one of those waiting in the shelter to give them a better life,” she suggested.
