Mars Petcare and Royal Canin have launched the first-ever State of Pet Homelessness Index in collaboration with leading animal welfare experts in order to measure the scale of cat and dog homelessness by country.
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According to findings, the initial data on South Africa indicates that an estimated 4,1 million companion pets are currently homeless in the country.
Even though many people love their pets, key challenges that many South African pet lovers are having is finding pet-friendly housing and having affordable veterinary costs.
Tumi Masekela, Corporate Affairs Director at Mars Multisales Southern Africa said: “As a global company, we have an ambition to end pet homelessness.
“The world we want tomorrow is one where no pets are homeless. Unfortunately, the reality today is that there are approximately 4,1 million homeless companion animals in South Africa as per our newly launched State of Pet Homelessness Index.”
South Africa scored 4.0 on the Index’s 10-point scale with 27% of companion animals in the country being homeless.
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During the Covid-19 pandemic with the hard lockdown, pet ownership increased in SA, however, global data suggests that across the nine Index countries measured, nearly half (47%) of pet owners have concerns that post pandemic, there will be more homeless pets than ever as economic hardship makes caring for pets difficult.
The Index revealed 77% of the general population in South Africa would consider adopting from a shelter and rescue centres in the future, compared to the global average of 65%.
The country has effective programs that promote pet adoption and fostering, connecting potential owners to shelters and rescue centres, and raising awareness of the benefits of having a pet.
South Africa’s above-average sterilization rates help with reproduction control; however, work is needed to address the high rates of canine rabies, as well as the requirement for more robust national rabies control programs.
The Index revealed that 49% of South Africans are hesitant to take their pet to the vet due to high costs, compared to the global average of 28%.
When it comes to the perks of having a pet, Masekela said: “Science tells us that pet ownership brings a multitude of benefits to our health and well-being: from improving our heart health and physical activity to building empathy, aiding development, and strengthening our sense of community.
We believe pets deserve more and tackling the issue is central to our purpose of creating a world where they are healthy, happy, and welcome.”
She concluded: “we are proud to share the State of Pet Homelessness Index as a crucial first step, so that anyone working towards this goal can benchmark and measure the effectiveness of their interventions over time.
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“We know that this is just the start, and we look forward to developing impactful collaborations to end pet homelessness.”
You can learn more at endpethomelessness.com
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