The awareness around pet adoption has resulted in more rescued animals being adopted. However, people still prefer to buy pets from breeders.
The rate of adoption of animals, especially dogs has seen an increase in Bangalore after the pandemic years. Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA), one of the biggest organizations working in the field of animal adoption and rescue has reported an increase in the numbers.
CUPA Bangalore’s Second Chance Adoption centre, one of the biggest adoption centers in the city has seen an increase from 13 dogs adopted in 2021-22 to 30 dogs in the year so far.
Several other NGOs in the city have also reported an increase in adoption of rescued animals. Let’s Live Together, an organization working with animal rescue and adoption said that they too have witnessed a steady increase in numbers of adoption in the last three years.
Sushi Kadanakuppe, who adopted a rescued puppy from Let’s Live Together said, “We adopted a puppy and the puppy was very friendly and adapted easily into the family.”
However, these numbers are not same for every foster care home.
Keerthan, representing Charlie’s Animal Rescue Centre (CARE), an animal protection organization said that “After the pandemic, number of adoptions have gone down. Of around 180 animals that we rescued in this year, only around 30 percent have got adopted while the rest remain homeless.”
Apart from NGOs, people have been working on an individual level to rescue stray animals and ensure their adoption. Tauseef Ahmed, who is working to rescue animals said, “I rescue all kinds of animals on my own along with the support of a few other helpful friends but most of these animals do not end up being adopted.”
Navya Venkatesh, working individually for stray animals said, “I try to help stray animals in need as much as possible and use my social media to put the rescued animals for adoption.”
“People are willing to adopt rescued animals but they prefer popular breeds over stray animals, puppies over adult dogs and males over females,” she added.
According to a survey conducted by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city, at present has around 2.8 lakh stray dogs in the areas of BBMP’s purview. Moreover, in India, the number of stray dogs is as high as 60 million.
To deal with stray dogs in Bangalore, the previous state government in February 2023, proposed anonline portal for taking care of stray dogs and to help the public adopt them. However, after the new government took over, no such plan has been implemented.
Experts say that people must make the right choices while choosing pets. Adopting pets instead of buying them from stores will not only give the animal a new and better life but will also help control the stray animals population in the country.
