As I write this article, many videos on how to flirt at 7pm in a large supermarket chain are going viral. A new example of the era of the “match” and the “swipe” that reduces love to something totally temporary, disposable and that can be found like someone looking for an object in a catalog.
I suppose that if this is the case in human relationships, what will happen in the bonds between humans and animals, taking into account that in the speciesist vision of society there is a them and an us?
According to the study “He would never do it” by the Affinity Foundation, more than 286,000 dogs and cats were taken into shelters in 2023. We are talking about an abandoned animal every two minutes in Spain. Data on animals not considered pets, obviously, no trace. There were always courses, they say.
Misinformation about the new Spanish animal welfare law has recently added to the already complicated situation of animal abandonment. Rumors and hoaxes spread on social networks and in the media have fueled fear among those who are considering adopting or including a new animal in their interspecies family. In fact, it is not uncommon to see how shelter members openly talk about the increase in certain species of animals abandoned at their doorstep since the controversy broke out.
I would say that early education is crucial in all of this. But there is no real plan to include empathy and well-being in classrooms today, only individual teachers who have done it. Therefore, the work of awareness is delegated to animal shelters, sanctuaries and other animal protection entities, which also do not have sufficient regulation or budget for this type of action.
This is why campaigns like the one carried out by the Salvando Peludos Foundation are important, in their aim to build a better place for all its inhabitants, human and non-human. With the “Adopta Peludos” campaign, co-financed by the Community of Madrid, it promotes responsible adoption, focusing on animal welfare, friendly and positive dog training, as well as promoting good behavior among animal guardians. In fact, this week, their adoption bus could be seen traveling through the streets and municipalities of Madrid, thanks to the support of Acana.
It is important that we continue to repeat “Adopt, don’t buy”. This is not a slogan, it goes much further. Even in 2020, according to the 3rd Annual Study on Pets in Spain carried out by Tiendanimal, 50% of the animals that arrived in homes were intended for purchase. And if we compare this data with the number of abandonments that occur year after year, it is very easy to see the saturation that animal protection centers in Spain are experiencing.
We need to continue to drive this change in society, and go a little further. Maybe we should add “but responsibly” to all the times we’ve said that it’s better to adopt than to buy.
It seems incredible that today we continue to have to create Christmas campaigns reminding, as the College of Veterinarians of Seville did last December, that animals are not a gift.
Responsible ownership should not be seen as an option, but as an ethical obligation. It is a commitment to take care of an animal throughout its life, respecting its physical and emotional well-being. But also respecting coexistence in cities. We need animal guardians who also build better neighborhoods. The simple act of picking up excrement or putting a little soapy water on the dog’s urine contributes to building a better society. It indirectly helps to ensure that fewer and fewer people consider animals as dirty or at least unhygienic beings.
According to the Affinity Foundation, 15% of abandonments are due to unwanted litters. It is common to see images of shelters sharing videos and photos of ads for entire litters of newborn puppies, dogs and cats. So we come to another slogan to add to our “Adopt, don’t buy”: “and sterilize”. Sterilization, CER (Capture, Sterilization, Return) method in the case of community cats, etc. These are strategies that, with very little, do a lot for the future of animals.
Within responsible ownership, many behaviors are also implicit and in turn contribute to reducing the devastating abandonment figures that we see year after year. Part of the abandonment is due to unwanted behaviors (around 12%, according to the Affinity Foundation). But we continue to see how training professionals make themselves known in many places: professionals ready to use choke collars, behavioral inhibition methods, etc. that do nothing more than silence the animal itself, which thus becomes a pressure cooker ready to explode. If all this has failed, why do we still use these methods? From Salvando Peludos, they promote friendly and positive dog training and, with Más Que Guau, they have created a decalogue of advice to help all families with furry members in their care. Because the animal must be an animal. And very often, it is the guardians themselves who provoke these unwanted behaviors.
And yes, I am talking about guardians and not owners, because it is also a question of language. When we use the term “owner”, we create, once again, a ladder of privilege. And the same goes for the term “pet”, which only reifies, reinforces the relationship of domination and denies the animal’s own individuality.
It is our responsibility to impact the perception and treatment of animals. Our relationship with them cannot be based on superficiality or the search for immediate gratification, but on empathy, respect and long-term commitment. Because love cannot be bought, it must be adopted.
