Baden-Württemberg: Tierschutzbund sends SOS: Every fourth animal shelter before the end

Some animal shelters already have waiting lists: many pet owners are overwhelmed with their four-legged friends or exotic animals that they acquired during the pandemic.

Baden-Württemberg: Tierschutzbund sends SOS: Every fourth animal shelter before the end

Some animal shelters already have waiting lists: many pet owners are overwhelmed with their four-legged friends or exotic animals that they acquired during the pandemic. Feed costs are rising, as are many other prices. Now the Animal Welfare Association is sounding the alarm.

Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - The German Animal Welfare Association fears that every fourth animal shelter nationwide will be closed. "A quarter is shaking because so many problems are coming together," says the association's president, Thomas Schröder.

The situation is catastrophic for several reasons. The new scale of fees for veterinarians, for example, provides for a doubling of the fees, which not only puts animal shelters in distress, but also owners who, because of unaffordable treatment costs, would give their long-time companions to the shelter with a heavy heart. "That caught us off guard," said Schröder.

In addition, the animal shelters get into trouble because of rising energy and personnel costs. Schröder calls on the federal and local authorities to improve the financing of the houses. A one-time payment of 380 million euros was enough to whip them into shape. The Tierschutzbund represents the interests of 540 member homes in Germany.

Association leader Schröder takes a look at daily practice together with Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir (Greens) in a Stuttgart animal shelter this Saturday. The Baden-Württemberg state animal protection officer Julia Stubenbord shares Schröder's diagnosis: "The animal shelters are under pressure."

In addition to the higher minimum wage, the increased energy costs are having a massive impact. Schröder explained that most of the homes are old and not up to date in terms of energy - in some places energy costs have quintupled. The heat requirement is great: injured hedgehogs and squirrels should not cool down. The terrariums for monitor lizards, snakes, spiders and small crocodiles devour a particularly large amount of energy. Schröder expects a flood of expensive reptiles.

"Some of the animals that were spontaneously acquired during the corona crisis have already ended up in the animal shelter again, and the rising costs are preventing potential owners from purchasing them," said Stubenbord. In addition, the rejected animals are often untrained; Dogs are not used to leashes and obedience or are aggressive towards people and animals. However, behaviorally disturbed four-legged friends would have little chance of being placed with new owners. Training with them means an enormous effort for the employees, said Schröder.

Only politics can help. For years, the municipalities have refused more funds because they would not recognize the animals that were found as found animals and therefore not worthy of support. Animal rights activists can't understand that. "Every animal is a found animal, because if we didn't pick it up, it would be a found animal."

The financing of the animal shelters is different in each municipality: there are cities with animal species-specific billing, elsewhere there are flat rates based on the number of inhabitants or a waiver of the lease of urban areas. "We want cost-covering uniform financing," Schröder demanded, adding: "If there are no more animal shelters, the task falls to the municipalities anyway - we can't kill the animals."

Other items on his wish list include a bid to neuter stray cats, a ban on online animal trading and a positive list of animals that can be kept privately. "In Germany, I'm allowed to keep a six-meter-long snake in the front yard," he criticizes.

In order to make the necessary investments and survive the winter, Schröder demanded 190 million euros from the dog tax for the animal shelters and just as much from the 200 billion euro relief package from the federal government.

The Ministry for Rural Areas in Stuttgart appealed to potential pet owners to be aware of their responsibility for an animal before purchasing it. “Taking a pet out of its familiar environment and deporting it to the animal shelter is always an enormous burden for the animal concerned and the animal shelters,” said department head Peter Hauk (CDU). The state government provides 500,000 euros annually for the renovation of over 70 existing animal shelters and the construction of new ones. Since the start of the program in 2010, more than 80 projects have been supported with more than 4.5 million euros.

As a first step, Stubenbord proposes an energy flat rate so that at least the heating costs can be covered. Otherwise there is a risk of closing small donation-financed homes. But each is needed to maintain order and avoid stray cats and packs of dogs.