An update on the RSPCA Victoria ‘adoption fee waived’ cat promotion. Between Thursday 11 and Saturday 13 November, 110 cats found new homes.
“That’s a freaking lot”, I hear you say; “but why didn’t they adopt more?”
Because they ran out of cats.
The revolving doors of the RSPCA almost stopped spinning at the weekend after 110 felines were given away.
Staff were stunned when the shelter’s nine Victorian catteries were emptied for the first time.
Every cat older than four months found favour with a new owner offering a home.
Cat lovers converged on the organisation’s shelters, making the most of extended twilight adoption hours, to claim a one-off costless cat.
… “It’s really spooky, and eerily quiet in the cattery with it almost empty for the first time ever,” said media manager Tim Pilgrim.
Are we seeing the trend yet?
A shelter saves a pet in under 2hrs by asking the public to adopt.
A shelter saves six dogs in three hours by asking the public to adopt.
A pound saves 79 pets in a week by asking the public to adopt.
A regional pound saves 97% of the dogs it takes in by asking the public to adopt.
The long held myth that the public simply don’t want to adopt pound animals and that shelters are just ‘doing the dirty work of an irresponsible public’ is finally being recognised as the furphy that it is. You can adopt your way out of killing and positive, proactive marketing by compassionate shelters finds pets homes.
What about all the supported arguments against having animals ‘free to good home’? No investment for owners. Who knows what their fate is now?
As someone who’s argued both sides in the past, I get where your coming from… but there is one problem. Which “supported” arguments are you referencing?
Because, like a lot of the unhelpful mantras of our industry these claims have been found to be false.
To suggest that there is no way to ‘measure’ the effectiveness of an adoption program is simply wrong; to not know ‘what an animals fate is’. Groups should and do follow up with adopters to ensure adoptions work out. That is why major animal groups around the world are now recommending these programs, because they save lives and make good adoptions happen.