CALGARY- Canadian shelters took in almost 200,000 animals in 2012, says the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies(CFHS).
The CFHS crunched the numbers from more than 100 shelters across the country.
Its report found 119,000 cats, 53,000 dogs and 15,000 other animals were taken in and cared for by shelters.
The data was tabulated from reponses by 102 shelters and doesn’t include municipal pounds and other organizations that care for animals.
The number of cats at shelters is consistently twice the number of dogs.
“Only 4% of cats brought in to shelters were reclaimed by owners compared to 26% of dogs,” says Toolika Rastogi, Policy and Research Manager at the CFHS.
The CFHS says since 2008, the number of animals brought to shelters has increased, which may be related to the recession.
It also finds adoption rates for dogs dropped slightly from 52% in 2010 to 48% in 2012, while the number of cat adoptions increased.
Shelters are forced to euthanize many animals: 41% of cats in shelters were euthanized compared with 15% of dogs.
“It is rare for a shelter to euthanize healthy animals,” says Dr. Rastogi “only 3% of healthy cats and 1% of healthy dogs were euthanized in shelters in 2012.”
CLICK HERE for the full CFSH report .
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