How has Covid affected pet adoption and acquisition?

Pet as an escape from the pandemic crisis.

Boredom, loneliness, stress and an unusually long time spent at home. According to Packaged Facts, an organisation that provides pet market research, it is one of the reasons for the rapid growth in dog ownership. During 2020, it increased to 96 million. By comparison, it is 10 million more than in the pre-pandemic 2019. The number of cat owners increased to 32 million, which, compared to 2019, is 2 million more. 2021 cannot boast of such numbers but it is still showing a positive trend.

The increase in the number of cats and dogs in households isn't the only reflection of the pandemic crisis. Latest surveys show that people enriched their households also with various species of aquarium fish, reptiles, small mammals and birds. This is also supported by the results from the retail trade, showing an increase in the sales of food for these domestic companions.

Adoptions in the Czech Republic

Czech breeders and shelters can confirm this trend. During the pandemic crisis, when people couldn't go anywhere, they passed their time by acquiring pets.

Most organisations can confirm that they didn't expect as much interest as they have recorded over the past year. Many are now at half their capacity. Some have agreed that interest also increased when government regulations allowed outdoor walks solely for the purpose of walking a dog.

Representatives of the societies have declared that most people were and still are interested in puppies, small dogs and bitches. However, they are worried that once the home office boom is over and all the regulations are relaxed, the situation won't be so rosy and people will start returning the pets back to the breeders and shelters. Unfortunately, all the organisations are expecting a great increase in the number of abandoned animals.

Greater interest has also been recorded in the adoption of dogs. Currently, the societies are choosing adoptive owners very carefully and conscientiously, and allow them to take the pets for only a temporary period to start with. According to the representatives of the dog-adoption societies, a potential applicant is given a four-month trial period to learn to work with the dog. During that time, the person must agree to an inspection, for the adoption centre to find out, whether the dog is thriving in the new home.

Have you also expanded your household with another member during the pandemic?