Post lockdown, pet abandonments on the rise in Kerala

Several dogs, cats and birds left in the lurch as owners are back to working from office

As the COVID-19 pandemic forced many to the confines of their homes, pets found a quick way into these places. For many, they became the sole companion and relief from boredom. Sales boomed in pet stores across Kerala even as prices of high-breed pets shot up considerably.

Now, as we move back to normalcy, there has been a reversal of the trend, rendering several pets homeless, stranded or even dead on the roads. This includes dogs, cats and birds.

“I get a lot of calls daily from people who want to get rid of their pets. Others do not even take that effort and simply discard their pets on road sides,” says Derrick Paul from Calicut Animal Rescuers and Encouragers (CARE), a voluntary organisation that works towards the care of abandoned animals.

A principal reason for this sudden abandonment of pets is that their owners no longer have the kind of free time required to take care of them. With offices shifting back to work-from-office mode and educational institutions reopening, many pet owners have become busy again. Some are even willing to give away their high-breed, expensive pets free of cost.

Unlike native breeds and street dogs, high-breed canines are high maintenance. And many of them suffer from skin diseases. If not properly taken care of, they can emanate an unpleasant odour, which some owners are not prepared to deal with.

“Most people take into consideration only the ‘cuteness’ of such pets while adopting them. But such impressions often fade away as the pets grow up”, says Rajeev E.M. Kunnath of Petlife Charitable Trust.

Abandonments can have an adverse impact on the pets who are unable to survive without care. “They often wait on the roadside for days hoping that their owners would come back. When the hope dies, they fall into a state of depression. Some do not survive long and end up dead on the road,” adds Mr. Rajeev.