National Studies Reveal Reasons Why Pet Owners Take Animals To Shelters And How Many Find New Homes
Wednesday, February 25, 1998
Note to editors: Statistical breakdowns of four regional
surveys that characterize pet owners who surrendered their
animals to shelters in 1994 are available through Dr. M.D. Salman
at Colorado State University. The four regional surveys were
conducted in Colorado; Kentucky and Tennessee; New Jersey and New
York; and California and explain the main reasons why pet owners
relinquished their pets to shelters in those areas.
FORT COLLINS--America's mobile society is taking its toll on
the nation's pets and often at the cost of the pets' lives,
according to a pair of national studies coordinated by Colorado
State University.
The two studies, conducted by Colorado State veterinary
epidemiologist Dr. M.D. Salman and sponsored by the National
Council on Pet Population Study and Policy, reveal that moving
and other lifestyle issues were the main reasons given by pet
owners when surrendering their animals to shelters. But the
majority of those pets--64 percent--are euthanized instead of
adopted into new homes.
The studies also found that the majority of pet owners who
surrender their animals to shelters are under 30 years of age and
that more dogs are taken to shelters than cats and all other
animals combined.
"Euthanasia of domestic pets in the United States is an
epidemic," Salman said. "These studies give us the first glimpse
of why so many pets are entering shelters and what happens once
they are surrendered by their owners."
The council, a coalition of 11 non-profit and scientific
organizations, started in 1993 to coordinate three
epidemiological studies to characterize the problem of pet
overpopulation. The first study, initiated by Colorado State in
1994, developed the most complete list to date of all animal
shelters in the United States, as well as the number of animals
entering the shelters and the disposition of these animals.
About 1,000 shelters in the United States responding as part
of Shelter Statistics Survey accepted an estimated 4 million pets
each year in 1994, 1995 and 1996. Of those sent to the reporting
shelters that participated in the study, about 64 percent--or 8.2
million pets--were euthanized.
The survey also revealed that, on average, 42.5 percent of
pets that entered animal shelters were submitted by animal
control authorities and nearly 30 percent were surrendered by
owners. The remainder were relinquished by other sources. Twenty-
four percent, or 3 million, of the animals taken to shelters over
the three-year period were adopted by new families. Only 10
percent, or 1.2 million, were reclaimed by their owners. (See
accompanying fact sheet for full breakdown of the Reporting
Shelter Statistic Survey.)
The studies mark the first, large-scale national effort to
quantify pet overpopulation in the United States and identify
reasons why pet owners relinquish their animals. With this
information, the National Council on Pet Population Study and
Policy hopes to develop strategies to curb the epidemic of pets
entering animal shelters.
"Up until this point, the nature and scope of pet
overpopulation in the United States has been notoriously
difficult to characterize," Salman said. "With the results of
these studies, we have a much better picture of pet owners'
reasons for relinquishing pets and what happens to them once they
enter shelters. Now we can use this information to identify ways
that could help reduce the number of pets euthanized each year."
A second study also initiated in 1994 focused on the
demographic characteristics of selected pet owners who
surrendered their animals to 12 shelters in the United States
over a one-year period. One region included three shelters
located in Denver, Weld and Larimer counties in Colorado; a
second region encompassed three shelters in Sacramento County,
Calif.; a third region included two shelters in Jefferson County
in Louisville, Ken., and two in Knox and Anderson counties in
Tennessee; and a fourth region involved one shelter in Bergen
County, N.J., and one in New York City. The regional studies were
coordinated by the schools of veterinary medicine at Colorado
State, University of California at Davis, University of Tennessee
and Cornell University.
Investigators in these four regions interviewed 3,400 pet
owners at designated animal shelters where their pets were
relinquished. Pet owners who volunteered to take part in the
survey were asked a series of questions about animals in their
household, including the species of animal submitted to the
shelter, whether there were problems with animal behavior and how
many animals lived in the household. Pet owners also were asked
their age, gender, annual salary, education level as well as
questions about the pet owner's knowledge of caring for animals
and why they chose to surrender their pet to a shelter.
Of the 70 reasons pet owners could cite for relinquishing
their pets, about 15 percent said their animals were ill or old
and needed to be euthanized; 7 percent said they were moving; 5
percent felt they had too many animals; 4 percent said owning a
pet cost too much; and 3.5 percent said the animals had soiled
the house.
In addition, the majority of respondents--62 percent--were
under 30 years of age and 52 percent had at least finished high
school.
A third and final study, expected to be completed this year,
involves a national survey of 80,000 households to determine the
characteristics of responsible pet owners, estimate the incidence
of pets being relinquished to animal shelters and determine the
disposition of dogs and cats within homes.
Salman and other council members hope that results generated
by the three studies will provide a scientific basis for
developing intervention, educational or other types of programs
targeted at existing pet owners or prospective pet owners.
"Some of the reasons pet owners cited for giving up their
pets to shelters may be resolved through educational or other
types of programs," Salman said. "Most of the problems are really
not with the animals, but rather with pet owners who may not be
knowledgeable enough about or prepared for the realities of
owning a pet."
The council is composed of 11 non-profit and scientific
organizations. Members include the American Animal Hospital
Association, American Humane Association, American Kennel Club,
American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, American
Veterinary Medical Association, Association of Teachers for
Veterinary Public Health and Preventative Medicine, Cat Fanciers
Association, The Humane Society of the United States,
Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,
the National Animal Control Association and the Society of Animal
Welfare Administrators.
Colorado State University's Epidemiology and Animal Disease
Surveillance Systems is the scientific coordinator for the
council. The center is based in the department of environmental
health in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical
Sciences.
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