homehome Home chatchat Notifications


Amid coronavirus outbreak, pet adoption and fostering is soaring

It's the one shortage we don't mind seeing: shelters are running out of pets.

Mihai Andrei
April 29, 2020 @ 4:22 pm

share Share

A viral video from a California animal shelter made the internet rounds, celebrating the fact that all the kennels were empty and there were no pets left in the shelter.

The heartwarming video was not an exception. All around the US (and beyond), pet adoption is soaring. However, it remains to be seen whether all these adoptions are permanent, or whether some pets will be forced to return to the kennels after the outbreak eventually starts to fade.

A friend for life, a companion for tough times.

Matt Bershadker, president and CEO of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, told NBC News that they are seeing a massive, 70% jump in animals being adopted or fostered in New York City and Los Angeles. Similarly, Vice President at the Pasadena Humane Society Jack Hagerman told the Los Angeles Times that his shelter is seeing a “massive uptick” in pet adoption. When the Animal Care Centers of New York City sent a call for 200 foster volunteers, it received 2,000 applications. In Florida, Friends of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control reported empty kennels for the first time in the shelter’s history.

The US isn’t the only country to see this type of trend. The UK is also reporting a massive increase in pet adoption and in France, a lockdown exception was made for people who were going to adopt pets.

It makes a lot of sense in the solitude and stress caused by the pandemic to look for the comfort brought by a pet. Studies have shown that pet owners tend to be healthier, happier, and report fewer feelings of anxiety and distress. Simply put, pets can be an excellent help in trying times.

However, shelters are also bracing for an increase in owners surrendering pets, either to shelters or as strays — especially as the virus infects and kills more people, and as the economic impact of the epidemic is starting to be felt more and more.

Shelters urge people to consider carefully whether they really want to adopt a pet — it’s a lifetime commitment that should be taken seriously.

But for now at least, it’s one of the very few positive things to come out of this pandemic.

“We don’t know what will happen as the numbers of sick and deceased increases, nor do we know what impact the financial stresses might have,” Jim Tedford, president and CEO of the Association for Animal Welfare Advancement, told USA Today. “But for now we’ve seen communities step up and help reduce shelter populations rather than the other way around.”

share Share

A Brain Implant Just Turned a Woman’s Thoughts Into Speech in Near Real Time

This tech restores speech in real time for people who can’t talk, using only brain signals.

Using screens in bed increases insomnia risk by 59% — but social media isn’t the worst offender

Forget blue light, the real reason screens disrupt sleep may be simpler than experts thought.

Beetles Conquered Earth by Evolving a Tiny Chemical Factory

There are around 66,000 species of rove beetles and one researcher proposes it's because of one special gland.

We Should Start Worrying About Space Piracy. Here's Why This Could be A Big Deal

“We are arguing that it’s already started," say experts.

An Experimental Drug Just Slashed Genetic Heart Risk by 94%

One in 10 people carry this genetic heart risk. There's never been a treatment — until now.

We’re Getting Very Close to a Birth Control Pill for Men

Scientists may have just cracked the code for male birth control.

A New Antibiotic Was Hiding in Backyard Dirt and It Might Save Millions

A new antibiotic works when others fail.

Researchers Wake Up Algae That Went Dormant Before the First Pyramids

Scientists have revived 7,000-year-old algae from Baltic Sea sediments, pushing the limits of resurrection ecology.

A Fossil So Strange Scientists Think It’s From a Completely New Form of Life

This towering mystery fossil baffled scientists for 180 Years and it just got weirder.

ChatGPT Seems To Be Shifting to the Right. What Does That Even Mean?

ChatGPT doesn't have any political agenda but some unknown factor is causing a subtle shift in its responses.